


Finding the Way 41+

by SecretScribbles



Series: Finding [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ? - Freeform, Ch41+, Continuation series, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Slice of Life AU, Trigger Warnings, Youtube AU, finding the way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:26:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28465272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretScribbles/pseuds/SecretScribbles
Summary: "Hey Lance,” Hunk called, already knowing where this was going. “BigBoi wants to know why you're bi."Immediately, Lance sat up straight and laced the tips of his fingers together to try and appear more serious. "Well I started a thirty day free trial and forgot to cancel the subscription sooo.” He shrugged and waved his arms out, smiling smugly. “Here we are."Hunk’s frown deepened, but his voice fell into a bored level of snark that they were all familiar with. "BeautyBoo said you just lost a subscriber."Lance flung out a peace sign to the camera. "Byyyeee."Snorting, Hunk shook his head at his friend, pleased to see him unbothered with the blatant bigotry and turned to Keith instead. "How about you, Keith? The fans are curious about you now."Keith was looking away to the corner, not meeting anyone’s eyes and scowling harder than usual. "I'm not interested in dating," he said, low and controlled.At that, Lance tsked and shook his head, making it harder for his poor makeup job to cover his mostly healed black eye in the changing light."And what a shame that is."
Relationships: Allura/Romelle (Voltron), Hunay - Relationship, Klance - Relationship, Lancelot - Relationship, Shadam - Relationship, potentially JeanMarco?
Series: Finding [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949962
Comments: 41
Kudos: 42





	1. This

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hello! Welcome back to the Finding Fandom! Let's kick this series off with a bang, shall we?  
> I hope your holidays were healthy and joyful, and blessings to the new year ahead ;)
> 
> Just as I promised, this is the continuation from the original Finding the Way series, beginning immediately where we left off with chapter 41. I have more announcements in the end notes for important info but for now, you've waited long enough and are to be rewarded with fluff and backstory. Let's end/start this new year RIGHT :D

**-**

[ **This** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqzlYTmFBGY)

**Ed Sheeran**

**41**

**-**

Lance smiled at the way his boyfriend made his fluid motions seem effortless. His pretty eyes closed, grin wide and sure, and his fingers gliding over the piano as he serenaded the audience with enough passion to make a church woman clutch her pearls. It was wonderful, the charm Lotor had over people. A vague sort of essence that swept over people and made them willing to do any and everything he asked. It was powerful. It was dangerous. It was Lotor’s gift that he used for his own purposes. A gift that belonged to him and him alone.

And Lotor belonged to Lance. 

The smile widened as Lotor turned to look at Lance over his shoulder, eyes going gooey for the next overly-tender bit in their [ **song** ](https://youtu.be/j80mCLNTugk) as they dropped into an easy chorus for their duet. The reaction from the audience was immediate, and Lance couldn't help but feel smug. Their fans loved them, and they loved that they were together almost as much as Lance did. 

True, there were always the haters who called their relationship unnatural, or the jealous crazies that claimed they themselves would make better lovers to one man or the other with a list of evidence to prove so. Lotor seemed to get a kick out of stirring the pot from time to time, and even went on to read some of their comments for the camera while he laughed at their poor life choices that they had mistakenly posted to the public. However, Lance didn't give any of them the attention they desired, because above all else, he got what he wanted. 

In the end, no one could have Lance except for Lotor, and nobody could have Lotor except for Lance. They were the perfect power couple, and everyone knew it. From their songs to their private life, no one could match their equal, and both Lance and Lotor thrived on it. 

As the song came to a close, they leaned in closer to each other, holding the last note as they gazed into each other's eyes. Lance kept his fingers nimble as he leaned over his guitar, smiling through their note while Lotor effortlessly stretched back from the keys to meet him. It was so simple, so easy for people of their skill, yet it caused quite a stir. The fans loved it, and inch by inch, the whispers and giggles and squeaks grew in intensity. 

Then finally, Lance and Lotor were locked into a sweet kiss in the middle of the stage, and then there was only screaming. In the kiss, Lance could feel the smug grin over Lotor's lips just as much as Lance could feel his own cocky grin. It felt fantastic, being able to show off what a great thing he had, and when they pulled away, Lotor could only stare at him with that smug smile growing ever wider in agreement. 

To say that this would be one of the most successful open mic nights in its short history would have been an understatement. 

-

"Wait, what?" Keith blinked at Lance, incredulous.

"Tonight," Lance repeated. "Just you and me. Let's go on a date."

Keith was still shellshocked at the gall that Lance had in asking him, despite having no one around to hear it. He stood there gaping, not really able to do or say anything while his racing thoughts took over his motor functions.

"Look, I don't mind being a secret," Lance said, shaking his head and still keeping his eyes steady with Keith's, earnest and caring. "No one has to know what you do behind closed doors- and if they don't know, they can't hurt you. _Or_ Acxa." His eyes softened with a smile, hopeful and tender. "So what do you say? Meet me in my room tonight?"

For the life of him, Keith still had no idea what other-worldly being had prompted him to say yes. Technically, he had squeaked out a choked up _'okay'_ after floundering around for a few minutes trying to even say that much, but. You know. Semantics. 

It was all worth it, if even for that much, though, because the brilliantly blinding smile that Keith received for his efforts made him weak in the knees. A smiling Lance wasn't a rarity, but to have such a smile that was so pleased, so genuine- even Keith knew that those types of smiles alone were reserved for someone special. Amazingly enough, Keith had managed to somehow fill that role, and now Lance tended to reward Keith with those smiles any time they were alone together. Smiles that would undoubtedly appear easily later on for special occasions. Such as 'tonight'.

Now, 'tonight' had come much too soon in Keith's opinion, and he was far from ready for it. With the sun going down and Keith recently freed from work, he was having trouble not swallowing his tongue in fear as he sat in the car, watching the house warily from his parking spot near the driveway. Lance was in there. Waiting for him.

_"Do you trust me?"_ Lance had asked when the silence stretched on, earning himself a deep, meaningful stare that led to an eventual nod. _"Then say_ yes _."_ His eyes had sparkled with excitement. _"Meet me here, tonight, nine o'clock sharp."_

The clock on Keith's dashboard read 8:53PM, plenty of time for an existential crisis. He was taking a huge risk by letting himself slip like this, and if he made even one wrong move, it would all be over in an instant. While he knew he could be safe in the Espinosa house, that his friends would never _intentionally_ hurt or tear him down for being himself, Keith also knew that they tended to talk. A lot. Pidge couldn't go five minutes without a camera or some tech in her hand, and Hunk was the worst gossip Keith had ever seen. Well, save for Carol, but Hunk was a close second. Maybe third.

Just the thought of going inside to spend an evening with Lance while those two rocket-mouthed friends of his sat on the sidelines to make any conspiracy theories they could about what was happening behind Lance's closed door gave Keith heart palpitations. It was bad enough that Lance and Sophia knew about him, but if Hunk or Pidge found out as well, Keith didn't know what he would do. Sure, they would promise to keep their mouths shut, but what if they slipped. What if _any_ of them did.

Keith breathed out slowly, gripping onto the steering wheel on and off so that his hands had something to do. He was used to having eyes on him all the time. From social workers to fosters to teachers, Keith had always known a constant state of observation for most of his life, and this situation was no different. Nor was his popularity with the masses over his YouTube career. If even one person caught wind of this, his future was doomed. And so was Acxa's.

But… 

_"Don't apologize."_

_"We've got your back."_

_"We want to help, baby."_

_"It really_ is _okay."_

_"Do you trust me?"_

Keith got out of the car.

The echoes of his friends in his memories helped give him the strength to make it up the walkway, and he only fumbled with his keys twice before he was able to get them in the lock. This was it. He could still run, still hide away in his room and pretend it never happened, but… did he really want to, was the question. The resounding answer pounded louder and louder in his head with each beat of his heart. Bracing himself, Keith closed his eyes, took a breath, and opened the door.

Silence greeted Keith as he entered the house, and after closing and locking the door behind him, he let out his held breath. A quick scan told him that Hunk wasn’t in the kitchen, and he couldn’t hear anything from Pidge’s room. Though, with her headphones, that was to be expected, really. Keith was about to sneak a peek under the guise of saying hello in his desperation to know where his housemates were, but the quiet voice of Sophia's Spanish lilt stopped him in his tracks.

“Hello?” she asked. “Is someone there?”

Carefully, Keith walked over to find Miss Sophia propped up on her elbow getting ready to lie down in bed. When she saw him, her confusion melted away into a relieved smile.

“Oh, hello baby,” Sophia said, smiling brightly. “You surprised me. I didn’t know anyone would be home tonight.”

Keith blinked at her, confused and a little stunned. “Wait, no one’s here?”

“Well, no one but me and Lancito,” Miss Sophia clarified. “Pidge and Hunk went out to spend the night with their loved ones.”

A sudden rush of relief hit Keith so fast and so hard he physically took a step back from the doorway and huffed out a hefty breath similar to a laugh. Then that relief turned into endearment, realizing that Lance had planned this specifically for him with this knowledge in mind. That damn fool was going to kill him once and for all, Keith just knew it.

“Honestly, if I weren't so exhausted by four o'clock every day I'd probably be out there as well," Sophia chuckled, bringing Keith back to the real world. "Are you going out tonight or staying in?”

“Oh, uh-” Keith shuffled his feet, not knowing how to answer. He didn’t want to lie to her, but he also didn’t want to tell her what he would be doing. It wasn’t like he knew what it was that he would be doing anyhow, so it was an awkward situation all around. In the end, he decided to just. Say it. “I’m going out. Might change out of my work clothes and hang out for a bit.”

Since he was ‘going out’ with Lance that night, it technically was the truth. It didn’t hurt to say as much. Whatever the case, it didn’t appear to matter to Sophia one bit, because she smiled at him and settled back down into bed.

“Alright then, baby,” she said sweetly. “Enjoy the stars for me.”

Keith gave her a smile, genuine and soft. “Will do. Good night, Miss Sophie.”

“Good night, baby. I’ll see you in the morning.”

With that, Keith gently closed Miss Sophia’s door to let her sleep in peace, then silently looked up to Lance’s room. His door was just barely cracked open, looming, sinister, and waiting for Keith's arrival. He was late. He was definitely late. But he was also covered in dirty dishwater from work at the diner. Keith bit his lip, not liking the extra two minutes he needed to change thanks to his strict military schedule still hammered into him. A learned habit that always screamed at him even after all these years.

The voice of every single, old military figure in his life all conglomerated into one voice barking out the same thing: _‘early is on time, on time is late’._ A stupid mantra drilled into his head as an excuse of being responsible, and to an extent, it was true. The feeling of shame or being looked down on paired heavily with this quote every time Keith was even slightly late, and now was no exception. But then, Keith also couldn’t stand the idea of showing up to his first date with Lance smelling of grease and dirty mops.

Years. _Years._ Keith had spent literal years of just watching Lance from afar, and now, it blew his mind that he was actually trying to pursue Lance for real. It felt so alien, so taboo, and much too terrifying, almost to an annoying extent. He wanted this, _had_ wanted this for years now, and by God he was going to enjoy it. Fears be damned. But first, he had to look good. Or at least, presentable.

Making up his mind, Keith rushed down into his room as quickly and quietly as he could, tearing off his shirt halfway down the stairs and throwing it into the hamper once he made it into his sectioned off room. He kicked off his shoes with equal haste, working on his belt buckle with a feverish sort of madness that shouldn’t have been possible. With all of his fumbling, it proved truthful. Still, Keith shucked off his pants and ran to his wardrobe to yank out anything clean, desperate for something nice to wear. Within his limited collection, all Keith could find that would even be remotely suitable for a date was a black polo and some worn, old khakis. Certainly not his most attractive attire but better than the damp, stained clothes on his floor now.

Slapping on some fresh deodorant, Keith practically jumped into his new clothes and just about ripped out his hair with how fast he combed it. Now of all times, he was cursing himself for his penny pinching ways, wishing he had some cologne or nicer clothes to wear or, hell, even a better belt than the worn out strip of leather he had. Alas, he had to suffer through looking like he had put no effort into himself instead. Keith was frazzled and definitely didn’t feel anything close to handsome enough for something he had wanted for so long, but at this point, he was too desperate to care. The clock on his phone showed 9:04pm. Time was short, and he needed to leave. 

Racing back up to the first floor, Keith lamented how horrible he must come off to Lance. Sloppily dressed, unshowered, shoes forgotten in his room, not even any cologne to wear to try and cover up the filthy dishwater smell on him. He felt disgusting, and it would be a miracle if Lance gave him a second chance. Still, if Keith missed out on this night, he knew he’d never forgive himself, so he pushed on. Once on the first level, Keith did his best power walk towards the stairs so as not to wake Sophia with his stomping feet, but something caught his eye.

The yellow cap of spray-on wood polish shined like a beacon to Keith from the fireplace mantel, proclaiming its lemony, citrus scent. The siren call reached out to him with all the class of a car salesman, reminding him that even with all of his flaws, he could at least try to do one thing for Lance. One, simple thing in the place of his personal disaster to try and make him somewhat nicer… 

No. _No._ It was a _stupid_ idea for stupid, desperate _idiots._

Which was exactly what Keith was.

Without a second though, Keith snatched up the wood polish and sprayed a quick spritz under his shirt… which immediately led to instant regret. He hadn’t even finished pressing down on the button before the negativity consumed him.

The sticky spray left him groaning to himself, knowing he had no more time to change, nor any chance to rinse off his mistake in the sink. Keith was out of time, and he knew it. He had to meet Lance covered in his own shame. Groaning again, Keith bit the bullet and snuck upstairs, hoping to God that he could smooth things over.

When Keith made it to the second level, his heart stopped with his steps at the top of the stairs. Instead of being cracked open like before, the door was shut, and no sound could be heard from behind it. Steeling himself, Keith took a deep breath, stepped over as silently as he could, then lifted his hand to knock… Perhaps a little too softly. He tried again, a little louder this time but still quiet nonetheless. Still. No answer. 

Keith shuffled on his feet, worried that Lance wouldn’t let him in after showing up five- now _six_ minutes late and trying harder than he realized he would at keeping his disappointment at bay. He dropped his head, squeezing his eyes shut and pressing his lips, fists tightening at his sides. Of _course_ he would screw up their first date.

The sting of defeat cut through Keith harder than he thought capable, and he needed an extra second to himself to compose his emotions. He was on his third deep breath when the handle finally turned, and Keith was surprised to find Lance peeking out at him. They stared for a moment, just a moment, both seemingly bewildered to see the other there. Then, Lance smiled at Keith, and his breath was taken away for an all new reason.

“Hey,” Lance whispered. “You actually came.”

For a second, Keith could only nod, still overwhelmed and not really able to speak just yet. Lance, bless his soul, seemed to accept this, merely smiling at Keith instead of expecting a response, and offering more of his own.

"You don't have to worry about the others," Lance reassured, still speaking softly as he held onto the door. Almost as if he were afraid of scaring Keith away or waking himself up from a dream if his volume grew too loud. "Tía's gone to bed, Pidge is spending the rest of the weekend with her family and Hunk is planning to stay and watch the sunrise with Shay for their own date night." He shook his head, eyes sparkling. "We won't be disturbed until morning."

Taking a moment to study Lance, Keith gathered up his courage as he finally found his whispered words. “How did you convince them to leave?”

Shaking his head, Lance matched the quiet tone. “I didn’t.”

Keith took a shallow breath, eyes still locked onto Lance's with a hint of wonder to his voice. "You did this on purpose." Lance's smile went soft, and Keith had to swallow. "You planned this. For me."

Again, Lance's smile sweetened, and his voice fell down into the breath of a whisper, eyes never faltering in his confession. _"Always for you."_

Keith was going to die from all that damn fluttering; son of a _bitch._

Finally, Lance stepped out of the doorway and held it open for Keith, silently allowing him into the room. Keith couldn’t help it, he had to check downstairs again before he entered, knowing full well that no one would see him. Old habits die hard, and his nerves were shot. He shook his head and admonished himself for his fears, knowing he could trust Lance. 

Lance. 

_Lance._

The one who didn’t look at Keith with expectation for him to enter, or disappointment for checking his surroundings. Lance. Who was so kind and sincere, so empathetic and understanding, so patient with Keith even when he didn’t have to be. Lance. Lovely, perfect, wonderful Lance.

Keith stepped through the doorway without any other issue.

Well. Except for Lance.

"Do you…” Lance turned to Keith as he closed the door, his face scrunched up in confusion before he started sniffing the air. Then, Lance took a step closer, still sniffing until he got too close to Keith, then he looked up at him with even more confusion. “Why do you smell like pine sol?"

Immediately, Keith stiffened up and took a step back. "I don't smell anything."

It took a moment, Lance watching Keith carefully with his confusion splayed out openly, but then the pieces were put together and a grin crawled up to his lips. "Did you spray yourself with cleaning supplies?"

Again, Keith stiffened up and took a step back. "What are you talking about?” he griped, crossing his arms and turning slightly away from Lance with heavy levels of irritation and embarrassment. “Of course not, that would be stupid."

Lance’s face lit up, and his grin split his face wide open. "Oh my God you _did."_

"No- shut up!"

At Keith’s blatant denial, Lance burst into a fit of uncontrollable giggling. Keith’s face remained in a permanent scowl, despite the flush that spread over his cheeks, which only made Lance giggle even harder, and Keith blush even more. A growl of frustration slipped out of Keith and he caved, knowing he had messed up and not liking that he had been caught _or_ called out on it, so he marched over to Lance’s bathroom and snatched a washcloth from the provided cabinet. Lance came up behind Keith as he ran the cloth under water, still snickering to himself while he watched Keith lift his shirt to wipe away at his stomach.

“Why on God’s green earth would you spray yourself with _Pine Sol?”_ Lance asked through giggles.

“I don’t know!” Keith admitted. “I was covered in dishwater and didn’t have time to shower.”

“So you resort to furniture cleaner?” Lance snorted, seeming to finish up with his fit. “I mean I know you can be a tool but even tools aren’t cleaned with freaking _Pine Sol.”_

_“Lemon scented spray,”_ Keith corrected, still putting too much focus on wiping down his stomach and shirt so that he wouldn’t have to look at Lance standing behind him. “I figured it was better than Sal’s Diner Grease.”

“Oh, yeah, because tables are sexy,” Lance said, teasing. 

As embarrassing as it was, Keith was okay with it. Because the teasing helped. The banter, the back and forth; it was something normal, something Keith was used to. It was something he could use to give him strength to turn around and face Lance with a smirk, defiant and challenging.

“You seem to think so, since I’m still here,” he said.

At that, Lance shrugged, grinning to himself now. “I do enjoy your company. Though, I have to wonder about your sanity.” 

“Agreeing to date you? I’m starting to wonder myself.”

“Okay, OW,” Lance said, smacking Keith on the arm playfully. “I’m a catch and you know it.”

Keith narrowed his eyes and looked Lance up and down, considering him with an unconvinced hum.

_“And you_ know _it!”_ Lance insisted, making Keith snicker at the sudden cry. Lance crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, still smiling as well while he continued to watch Keith finish up trying to remove the sticky substance that had congealed on his skin. “That looks like a nightmare. Seriously. Why.”

Keith shrugged, head down and focused solely on his task. “Guess I panicked. I don’t like being late and I was in a rush to get here.”

Lance couldn’t speak without a snicker. “So you forget your cologne but not your wood polish?” 

“I don’t have cologne,” Keith said simply.

Humming, Lance nodded to himself, because that made sense. Keith rarely ever bought himself anything, so not having cologne wasn’t that much of a stretch for Lance to believe. Pushing away from the door frame, Lance stepped over to his side of the mirror and pulled out two glass bottles, one black, one blue. Turning to Keith, Lance held them up with a satisfied smile just as Keith finished and laid out the washcloth.

“Pick a bottle, any bottle,” he said. “Ocean Breeze or Midnight Mist.”

For a second, Keith shuffled on his feet and looked away, suddenly quiet again before he gave a nervous chuckle. “I don’t need to borrow any of your stuff, you know. I’m already here, and I’ve already made a fool of myself.”

“I know. And I thoroughly enjoyed the show,” Lance said with a sly grin. Then, it turned into something a little more sincere, but just as confident. “Maybe I just like the idea of you smelling like me.”

That made Keith physically stutter again, and he looked away to keep from embarrassing himself any further. Lance absolutely adored it, and he couldn’t stop his smile from deepening. Slowly, Keith reached out towards one of the cologne bottles in Lance’s hand, sniffed the cap, then did the same with the other. His eyes had lifted up to meet Lance’s, soft and somewhat vulnerable as they smiled together through Keith’s test run. Lance kept eyes with him through it all, unable to look away, and completely smitten with the man before him lightly shaking the mostly full bottle of Midnight Mist.

“How about this one?” Keith asked quietly.

Of course he would pick the black bottle, the emo edgelord wannabe.

“Sounds perfect for you,” Lance said instead. Carefully, Keith handed the other bottle back to Lance, then twisted off the cap for a spritz along his chest, making Lance snicker all over again. “You gotta spray the air, then walk through it.”

Keith gave him an affronted look. It would have been insulted if it weren’t so confused and downright adorable. “You lose so much, though. Why spray the floor when it can all go on your body.”

“This advice coming from the man who thought cleaning products would make a suitable substitute?” Lance said flatly.

“I’m never going to live that down,” Keith said matter of factly.

“Not on your life,” Lance chuckled, then turned to put his bottles away. “If you ever want more, you know where to find me.” He turned a grin to Keith. “Unless you actually like-”

“Shut up already,” Keith interrupted, making Lance laugh again due to the lack of bite in it.

Finally, straightening up, Lance’s eyes lit up all over again, and his smile was something new as he placed his fists on his hips and locked onto Keith. "You ready to go?"

Suddenly, Keith’s good mood faltered, and he looked insecure again, his bright eyes going remorseful and slightly guilty under Lance’s gaze. "I left my shoes."

"That's okay,” Lance said, shaking his head. "You don't need them where we're going."

Again, Keith’s confusion overtook his expression, and Lance’s smile spread across his face yet again. It was just too cute, Lance couldn’t handle it.

“Come on,” Lance said with a wave, then left the bathroom with a quick step.

Following behind him, Keith was prepared to leave the bedroom for whatever Lance had planned. What he was not prepared for, was Lance opening the bedroom window and sticking half of his body out through it. Keith watched wide-eyed as Lance looked around, back and forth, then back again before he pulled back into the room, smiled at Keith, and hopped out onto the roof. It took a moment to register, but as Keith got closer, he noticed the darkened windows of their neighbors beside them and across the street, and Keith smiled quietly to himself. Yet again, Lance was looking out for him, and without any witnesses to their escape route, the two of them were free to enjoy their getaway together.

Being mindful of his footing, Keith crawled out through the window for himself and stood up to look around. He twisted left and right and turned fully around but Keith stood alone. Lance was nowhere in sight.

_"Psst."_

Keith whipped around to see Lance's head poking out from behind a cropping. Lance smiled at Keith, then ducked back down behind the roof and out of sight. Well alright, then. 

With that, Keith carefully made his way over the peak of the roof in between the two windows and found Lance waiting for him in their own pocket of privacy. With the roof angled how it was and the window crests extending all the way to the back on either side, it was a hidden, little oasis out of sight from the rest of the world. Once again, Lance had kept Keith in mind.

A teensie smile tugged at the corner of Keith's lips at the thought, and it only widened the longer he looked. Before him, Keith took in the beach towel laid out for them, with about six or eight tiny, battery operated decoration tea lights spread out sporadically around the edges of it. A petite, closed cooler and an insulated lunch box acting as a picnic basket sat at Lance's side, and he held a small, green glass bottle in each of his hands. Lance lifted one slightly to Keith, quietly offering while Keith crept closer.

"Sparkling cider," Lance said cheerfully. "Turns out Martinelli's has individual bottles in a six pack." He shrugged a little, pushing the bottle out more with only the slightest hint of insecurity. "It was the closest I could get before deferring to alcohol."

Pausing, Keith took in the man standing before him. Keith had never outright stated that he didn’t drink, he simply passed whenever anyone offered. Paranoia kept him from taking part in the social gesture, filling his head with horror stories of slipped secrets and wandering hands should he ever fall victim to too much alcohol. No other person knew that about Keith, and he kept it that way to keep things simple. Lance, though. Lance had noticed Keith’s aversion to drinks. Lance seemed to notice a lot about Keith these days, and Keith couldn’t really find it in him to be angry about that.

Planting his butt securely on the roof before anything, Keith took the offered bottle and leaned back on the towel on his elbows. He twisted off the cap, giving it to Lance to toss into the lunch box before they clinked their drinks together. Then, after a thorough swig of makeshift courage, Lance surprised Keith yet again by pulling out some cheese, crackers and grapes from the lunchbox, setting the spread down between them on the towel.

"You thought of everything," Keith said with a little snort.

Lance merely shrugged again, taking a small sip. "I like to strategize."

"Well, now I know who to run to when the world ends," Keith said, and popped a grape into his mouth.

"You joke, but I already have three plans each for the rapture, the apocalypse _and_ the zombie outbreak," Lance said seriously, holding up his counted out fingers. "Plus subplots should something within them fail."

Keith ticked his head as he lifted his drink to his lips. "Like I said."

The two shared a knowing look before falling into quiet laughter. The fluttering feeling in Keith's chest swelled so much it felt as though the cider was bubbling up into his lungs, and it was almost painful with how strong it felt. Keith finally let his smile spread out over his face as he took in the night sky, delightedly stargazing with Lance by his side.

For a while, the two talked quietly while they sipped and nibbled on cider and cheese. They spoke of everything and nothing, smiling and giggling as though children getting away with staying up past their bedtime. It felt relaxed yet charged all the same, like breaking the rules despite knowing that there were no rules to break. It was wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

For all his dreams and imaginary scenarios, Keith's first date after Griffin had never looked like this. Undoubtedly, Lance had outdone himself in every single one of Keith's passing daydreams, because in all his wildest fantasies, Keith could never have thought up something as perfect as this. Not only that, but Lance had the added benefit of being real, and not ending with the harsh reality that was Keith's walls and set rules to be alone. 

Now, it was different. Keith had no idea how Lance did it, but he did. After too many years of swallowing his emotions and holding back on doing all the things and feelings that he actually wanted, it felt so good to finally let himself have this, if even for a moment.

Conversation went quiet for a bit as they began working on their second bottles of cider, but as per usual, Lance didn't stay silent for long. An alarm went off on his phone, and he turned an excited grin to Keith before laying down fully flat on his back against the towel, lightly slapping Keith's arm to do the same.

"Show's about to start," Lance said.

"What?" Keith didn't understand, but he complied all the same.

"There's a reason everyone is out tonight," Lance said in lieu of explanation. "Pidge went to go hang out with her family and their dad's ridiculously expensive telescope, so she decided to make a weekend of it. And Hunk has always loved watching the sunrise with Shay, so this seemed to be the next best thing." He turned a quick grin to Keith before turning back to the sky, implying that Keith should do the same. "I figured a couple of up and coming _stars_ like us should be able to enjoy something special, too."

Keith furrowed his brow, mouth open to ask what the hell Lance was going on about when something moved in the corner of his eye. He whipped his head around, eyes searching the heavens for a moment before another flash came and went. Then, another, and another, and after a few minutes, a meteor shower rained down over the night sky in a proper display of beauty. Keith's eyes widened at the sight, his jaw dropping slightly in awe, and it was then that he finally remembered the news reporting this natural end of summer celebration almost a month ago. The same story that had been broadcast almost daily ever since, to the point where Keith had forgotten about it entirely due to it being a constant routine in his life. It just happened; no reason to think about it. Until now.

Amazement fell over Keith all over again as the sky lit up in a wondrous array of white, streaming lights. The meteor shower had been hyped up all month long, and seeing it now, Keith could only agree that the praise had been properly earned. It was beautiful, most likely the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and he couldn't believe he was being given the chance to see it. Let alone enjoy it with Lance by his side. Yet there he was, doing just that, after possibly weeks of planning on Lance's part.

"How did…" Keith couldn't finish, too entranced and amazed by the stars and situation, but he didn't need to in order for Lance to understand.

"I hoped," Lance said softly. "Even if you didn't say yes, I still would have asked you to watch tonight. Just, you know." He chuckled slightly, somewhat bashful. "Not as romantic."

Keith nodded, unable to speak or look away. It was just too incredible. The hidden picnic, the lack of alcohol, the conversation, the meteor shower, the planning involved- it was all so very incredible. _Lance_ was incredible.

They sat in silence then, watching the stars together as the night sky put on a show for them. For several, long minutes, neither of them could say anything else for fear of ruining the night with anything louder than a whisper. It was another one of their Moments. A time where words were not needed, where they understood without needing to explain or try to work at it, and if they did, nothing needed to be said past a few whispers. A time where nothing needed to be done but soak up and acknowledge what they had right then and there, together. These Moments were precious things that Keith treasured because he knew that he couldn't get them anywhere else. Not like the way he could with Lance, and _only_ Lance. And really, only Lance could make better in his own way.

_"Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you."_

Keith noticed the mutter, close to a song but not quite.

_"And everything you do."_

He looked over, finding Lance smiling at the sky.

_"Yeah they were all yellow."_

Quietly, not even trying too much, Lance began to sing soft words. He kept his eyes on the sky and his voice light and gentle, no pressure whatsoever. It made Keith smile to the sky as well, and slowly, he joined in on the song, too.

And so it was, the two performers sang softly with one another, enjoying the night and their drinks and their company. The stars shined above them as the sky rained down, and all was well and comforted, like a lullaby soothing a soul to sleep. As the song ended, peace swelled between them like a wave of warmth from the hearth, and nothing needed to be done or said to make it better.

The silence lingered as the meteor shower went on, and they finished their crackers and second bottle of cider. Lance leaned over to grab their final bottles and toss away the foil wrapping before laying back down, barely taking his eyes away from the sky the whole time. It was quiet. Comfortable. Like they could speak about anything.

Even the uncomfortable stuff.

"I saw you," Lance said, somewhat subdued. "I saw you freaking out in your car for like, fifteen minutes."

Keith froze, not looking at Lance. Not quite scared or upset, but closer to ashamed. Guilt over being trapped by his fear once again. And once again, Lance was undeterred by Keith's reactions, and expected no immediate response.

"I'm not going to lie," Lance went on, still strangely low and even. "When I heard you run down to your room, I thought it was over."

Keith's eyes flickered down for a moment in even more shame before flying back up to the night sky, his voice equally quiet and subdued. "I had to change my clothes."

Lance grinned a little, pleased at what had happened instead of what he had feared. "Aww, you got all dressed up for me?" 

At the sudden switch to playfulness, Keith ticked his head into a shrug before taking another sip. "I mean, unless you like the smell of dirty grease water."

"Nah," Lance said, nonchalant. "I prefer Lysol."

"I fucking hate you," Keith deadpanned.

Snickering burst out of Lance, still stuck watching the sky while they bantered like usual. The sound of it eased Keith's nerves as well, making the guilt from realizing he could have missed this melt away. Could have missed _Lance._ The snickering faded out, and again there was silence, but the smiles stayed in place, small as they may have been. Then, Lance started speaking again. Quiet. Vulnerable.

"I didn't answer the door at first because I thought my ears were playing tricks on me," Lance whispered. "I didn't believe you had actually come… I was kinda scared to have my hopes up." He turned to look Keith in the eye, offering a short, shy smile. "I'm really glad you did."

Keith met his gaze as Lance turned to him, and for a moment, silence was all they needed. Silence, and a returned, shared smile. But Lance had done so much already, had given more than Keith could have ever hoped for, and he asked for so little in return. More than anything, Keith wanted to give back, even if it was nothing in comparison.

"... Me too," Keith whispered, and Lance's tiny smile outshined the falling stars.

It was blinding. So, so blinding it almost hurt. Blinding. But oh, so beautiful. 

They turned back to the night sky, caught in another Moment. It was just as nice as the others before, but still missing something. It wasn't enough for Keith, and he knew it certainly couldn't be enough for Lance. Not after all he had done.

Slowly, Keith slid his hand down from his torso to the side of his hip, his fingers fiddling with themselves nervously against the roof shingles for a second before creeping over. It took a minute or two, but eventually, Keith's pinky bumped into Lance's, and their fingers carefully tangled together. From the corner of his eye, Keith saw Lance tilt his head over to check on him, a slight smile to his lips, but Keith refused to look away from the stars. Heat burned through Keith's cheeks at what he considered a bold movement, eyes locked onto the sky to hide his embarrassment and terror, but determined to give what little he could. 

Plus… It wasn't like he wasn't enjoying himself, either.

The fingers tightened with an appreciative squeeze over Keith's as Lance turned back to watch the last of the meteor shower with his date, his smile still stuck in place. He tried to stay this way, but his attention simply could not leave Keith. Noticing this even without looking, Keith's embarrassment grew, but still, he didn't want to let go of Lance's hand. Instead, he tried to lessen the tension in his gut by commenting on the night itself. If Lance were to start talking again, Keith knew he'd let up on that gooey, doe eyed stare that did ridiculous things to his insides.

"It's really pretty tonight," Keith said quietly, still looking to the stars.

And Lance, being the dork he is, just responded in that soft voice of his without even looking away. "Yeah. You are." 

Keith snorted, somewhat glad for the change. "You cheese ball."

"I know," Lance said with a grin before turning back to the show. "But you liked it."

And no matter how hard he tried, Keith couldn't find any reason to deny it.

-

Keith woke up the next morning to find no trace of their date left behind at all, and everyone was left none the wiser. The only evidence that their night together had ever happened was Lance.

Lance, and his new [ **Coldplay** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK7p6DzpcRA) cover singing about how the stars shine.


	2. Daydream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He got too close. It didn't matter that he didn't even know the guy's name, Keith had just stepped one step too far over in order to gather something stupid off the counter, something so inconsequential that he didn't even remember what it was, frankly. Still. The Sendaks didn't care. 
> 
> They knew his history, feared it, feared a 'relapse,' so they attacked before anything could happen. Now, hours later, Keith's arms burned from carrying his weight for so long. His elbows dug into the hardwood of the floor and sweat dripped off his brow, but it wasn't enough. It was obvious to the fosters that Keith hadn't learned his lesson from physical routines alone, and it was clear that Dick would need to intervene even more.
> 
> Which was why by the time the sun had gone down, Dick's throat was sore from all the screaming he did, and the shake in Keith's muscles had very little to do with the planking underneath the commander.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's late but ta-daa~
> 
> Holy cow you guys this whole month has been a trip and it isn't even halfway over yet o_o  
> More info in the end notes because WOOF.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS: Starts out with a verbal/intimidation attack that gets Keith going invisible and panicking/lashing out, then dealing with the aftermath of that, self deprecation, overwhelming guilt/guilt trips, then more emotional manipulation... Boy, I just love pulling you guys through the mud, don't I? (That's a lie, I love you, don't leave me to geek out on my own please)

**-**

[ **Daydream** ](https://youtu.be/lbi3KMXLRv8)

**Giulio Cercato** ****

**42**

**-**

He knew it was too good to be true. 

The night had just been too perfect, like something out of a story book. Keith felt it had to have been a dream with how at ease everything felt with the stars, the laughter and the beautiful man holding his hand by his side with a smile that outrivaled the shower above them. 

It was perfect. It was wonderful. It was found out.

Just as he feared, his worst nightmare came true, and the fosters had learned of his date with Lance. 

Now Keith was going to pay. 

Keith backed away with wide, terrified eyes as Mr. Sendak stormed up to him, screaming slurs and hatred and filth every step of the way. As he drew closer, the hulking man seemed to grow larger, bulkier, more threatening, and he only had eyes for Keith, ignoring Lance who was staring in confusion to the side.

"No…" He did his best to look small as he backed away, shoulders curling in and chin dipping only enough so that he could still keep eyes with Dick. "No, please- please, I'm sorry."

There was a ringing in Keith's ear that he was all too familiar with. Unfortunately, Keith was the only one who could hear it, apparently. It would have made sense to Keith if Mr. Sendak just didn't care to listen to him- as per usual, really, but with Lance there, Keith would have assumed a different reaction out of his friend. Instead, Lance tilted his head curiously, watching Keith openly quail under his foster father's unrelenting glower and booming voice.

"Keith?" 

Lance had asked for him, innocent in nature but a mortal sin to Dick if his widening eyes and reddening face said anything. If that weren't enough, the shrieking began anew, and Mr. Sendak stomped forward to loom over his shrinking foster kid even more, gaining any advantage he could over Keith whatsoever.

"I'm sor- I'm sorry…" As Keith backed up, the ringing in his ears grew louder and louder, drowning out Mr. Sendak’s voice. It hardly mattered anyhow, not with Richard around. "Please sir, no-"

Lance reached out, still confused and hoping for answers or to comfort or _something,_ but it only caused more trouble between them all. Anger for Dick, fear for Keith, and hurt for Lance as Keith pulled away as quick as he could. Lance's face crumpled in sadness and Keith's despair skyrocketed.

"Keith, hey-"

Mr. Sendak's fury mounted at their reaction, and he grew in size as he worked himself up to be as large as possible over a terrified Keith. Lance knew; after everything Keith had told him, he had to have known, but the stupid idiot just kept pouring fuel on the fire by drawing closer, trying to help, making it _worse._ Thanks to this, Richard retaliated in kind, shouting louder and deadlier than before, the flame of hatred scorching in his eyes.

The screaming roared over Keith to the point of vibrating against his skin, and the ringing in his ears nearly deafened him in efforts to wipe out his foster's voice. Keith was desperate now and just nodded, backed away, held his hands up to protect his belly and still seem small as he pacified his aggressor with his anxious retreat. By now, he had finally taken his eyes off Richard as he curled in on himself even more, doing anything and everything he could just for some relief. 

"Yes sir-" Keith tried, breathless. "Yes sir, yessir, yessir-"

"Keith-"

A throaty gasp rasped out of Keith as he startled awake, jumping away from the grasp on his shoulder and nearly shoving Lance through the makeshift doorway to his room. Lance was quick to steady himself, though, and rushed back up with his hands held into a placating gesture for Keith to see that he wasn't a threat. 

"Hey, hey, hey- it's me, it's just me; you're okay." Lance locked eyes with Keith's panicked, bruise colored orbs and lowered his voice, hoping to come off as soothing- especially in comparison to the panicked whimpering he had heard from Keith in his sleep from as far as halfway down the staircase. "It's okay. You're okay. You were dreaming again."

It seemed to work somewhat because Keith's panting eventually began to even out, and his eyes slowed down from their paranoid twitching over Lance's body. Keith choked off Lance's name but gave up when his voice crackled almost painfully. Instead, he gave Lance a meaningful, wide eyed, almost furious and disbelieving look in place of verbally asking for an explanation. 

Lance offered a coy grin, but even he knew it didn't reach his eyes. "Morning sunshine."

"What are you doing here?" Keith demanded sharply, his voice still somewhat raspy. 

Knowing Keith's jitteriness after nightmares, Lance only just managed to keep from flinching at the venom that so easily burned him. So, not wanting to make the situation worse, he crossed his arms over his chest with a cocky grin to try and smooth things over back into normal territory. "I came to get you for breakfast."

"I can't," Keith dismissed quickly. "The others will see."

Lance snorted, flicking his head back a bit as though the absurdity of the comment had knocked him back. "See what? You eating your oatmeal?"

_"Just get out and leave me alone."_

That time, there was too much venom, and Lance couldn't hold back his flinch. The smile fell away from his face and his arms drooped to his sides, leaving him open as he watched Keith glare at the wall at their backs. Lance knew that Keith's dreams weren't always sunshine and roses, and he tended to be a bit grouchy after waking up due to the residual panic, but he had never really been this touchy before. It must have been a bad one.

Carefully, Lance shuffled on his feet to inch closer, and lifted a hand to reach out for Keith's shoulder. "Hey, are you okay-"

"I said _get out!"_

Keith whipped around so fast and violent that when he slapped Lance's hand away, a painful smack echoed off the stone walls and Lance was left holding his stinging hand, wide eyes locked onto Keith's wild ones. Lance took a step back, stunned by the outburst and Keith had never felt so ashamed, but he kept his glare up, kept his guard in place, too wound up to let anyone in to hurt him again. Not after Lance's 'helping' had left Keith in the mortifying, fictional situation that he had just escaped. 

It was a second. One single, lifelong second, that marred time with the burn of discomfort, shock and silence as they stared at one another. Then, without another word, Lance gave a slight nod as he unconsciously massaged his hand close to his chest, then turned to leave Keith alone with his regrets. And boy did he have them. 

Even before he heard Lance's final footsteps take off over the top stair, Keith sighed to himself with derogatory abandon. He dropped his face into his hand and sat in bed, furious with himself and ashamed of his actions because of a stupid dream. A fictional reality. A _lie._

Keith scratched his nails over his head and through his hair, digging in deep to the scalp to make himself feel something, to ground him in _this_ reality and not the one that left him shaking and hateful. He despised the way he lashed out, especially when he knew that Lance, of all people, _Lance_ hardly deserved his ire. 

Nobody deserved to be yelled at like that. Nobody deserved to be treated the same way that Sendak deemed suitable. Yet Keith had done just that; and to Lance no less.

For that, Keith hated it. Hated _himself._ He would never forgive himself if he turned into the same monster he feared. With that terrifying thought in mind, Keith opened his eyes and threw his blankets off, determined to begin the day anew and start over. _Without_ hurting other people.

As Keith got dressed, he scowled to himself in irritation, unable to forgive himself for hurting Lance. The same thoughts kept repeating themselves over and over in his head, making his resolve even stronger. He knew that Lance didn't deserve Keith's problems or fears, but they just- the fear and the anger and the "lessons"- they were so ingrained in him that Keith didn't know how to live without them, and that… Keith didn't like that. He didn't like that one bit. 

Shucking his pants on with almost violent thrusts, Keith huffed to himself. He was right; Lance didn't deserve Keith's problems, but neither did Keith. He didn't deserve to live in fear and anxiousness and hatred, and Lance sure as hell didn't deserve to be hit with all that crap as well, be it figuratively _or_ physically. 

Keith cringed into himself, ashamed all over again as the sound of the slap echoed in his ears as though he had hit Lance again at that very moment. He hadn't meant to hit Lance at all, but his instincts put his defenses on high, and when he whipped around to be big and scary against his "threat," Lance's unseen hand was there, reaching out to help. The same way it had in Keith's dream, only this time Keith shuddered in a different kind of dismay.

The back of Keith's own hand stung at the memory of sudden, unexpected contact, and he could only imagine how Lance had felt. Lance was owed an apology from Keith, and a damn good one no less. One that meant something more than just flowery words. He needed… He needed a better partner than Keith could be for him- if they ever wanted to be anything at all.

At one point, the idea of being close with Lance had been everything Keith had ever wanted. There were some nights when Keith would fantasize about a nice house with nice rooms for his sister, a flowering garden being mucked up by a rowdy dog and a handsome body by his side, all smiles, sunshine and happiness. It was a ridiculous fantasy that made Keith embarrassed to think of what would happen if anyone were to ever find out about, but he couldn't stop thinking about it no matter the circumstance. Then, after meeting Lance, the dream changed. 

More often than not, that handsome body had turned into Lance himself, wrapping his arm comfortably around Keith's waist and smiling that wonderfully bright smile of his. Every time Lance popped up, Keith was quick to admonish those thoughts, because truthfully, he felt Lance was too good for him and his messed up reality. Aside from that, Lance was a good, _good_ friend, and Keith was thankful, and even _satisfied_ with even that much.

In the end, it didn't matter what they ended up being to one another. What _did_ matter, was that Keith needed to be better. A better person, a better friend, better brother, better… lover? Keith shook his head, actually creeped out by the thought with his nerves still in jitters and the fact that they had only been on _one_ date so far. Maybe someday, but for now, Keith just knew that he had to be _better._

Tying on his boots with a little too much force, Keith gave a sharp nod to himself as he made up his mind and a small list with it. First, Keith would apologize to Lance in a way that he deserved. Then, work on acting like the man that Lance needed. The man he deserved. More importantly than that, though, _Keith_ needed to be the man that _Keith_ wanted to be. And by God, he had to do it without being afraid. 

He had to. Because Lance was worth it. And because, now, Keith was starting to believe that he _himself_ was worth it as well.

Huffing out a harsh sigh, Keith rolled his neck to try and settle the last of his nerves as he marched his way up the stairs. Once he reached the top, Miss Sophia caught sight of Keith and smiled at him, while Pidge couldn't be bothered to lift her head off the table from her exhausted slouch. The atmosphere was light with Hunk's cooking and Lance's jokes, filling the air with short laughter that was too weak for so early in the morning, but trying all the same. 

Keith swallowed as he crept forward, taking in his environment. His shoulders were tense as he walked over to the breakfast nook, seeing Lance act as though everything was fine and normal, but not really catching eyes with Keith. In fact, it almost seemed as though the man was avoiding Keith all together, and that… that didn't feel right at all. The closer Keith got, the busier Lance tried to be, and when Keith reached the kitchen, he made a show of digging through the fridge.

"I could have sworn we just bought more juice yesterday!" Lance cried out as he held up and shook a nearly empty bottle, turning an incredulous look towards the breakfast nook and away from Keith. "Pidgey. How."

Pidge had no reply other than a particularly significant finger held high in the air. It was too early for her sass just yet, but she was trying regardless. 

All Lance could do was shake his head. "Such manners from such a little lady."

That got him another finger, and Lance snorted at the sleepy crassness. That is, until he felt a hand on the back of his shoulder.

"I'll get the drinks," Keith said, just barely louder than ‘quiet’. "You can sit down, if you want."

Silently, Lance turned a wide, forced grin over his shoulder, finding Keith trying and failing to force a relaxed expression through his tensed up… everything, really. The poor guy looked like a spring locked and loaded to fly off into space. His fingers twitched uncomfortably at the contact he held on Lance's shoulder, but he stubbornly refused to move his hand despite it. To top it off, there was a tight, yet wobbly smile pursed over Keith's lips just begging to be casual, but it was clear that it was anything _but._

Keith was trying. God only knew what he was trying _for,_ but he was trying. Lance's grin widened to comedic proportions, and he turned to face Keith with his fists on his hips, leaning back enough to release Keith of the obligation to touch his skin.

"Well, looky here!" Lance said, far too cheerfully. "The knight coming to save the damsel in distress."

"Well, you’re certainly pretty enough to be one," Hunk said flippantly as he began plating bacon.

"And flimsy enough," Pidge muttered at the table. 

At that, Lance pointed sharply at Pidge. "You: hush. And you:" He turned to point at Hunk. "Keep going you beautiful bastard."

"Excuse you, my parents are lovely and you know it," Hunk said, pointing his own finger at Lance, who held his hands up in retreat. 

"This, I can't deny," Lance breezed. Then, he turned his charming grin over to Keith, keeping it as casual as he could. "I got it, man. Don't worry about it."

And that… actually made things worse. Keith's expression blanked out for half a second before he remembered that he was trying for a smile. Then the one he replaced it with was even tighter and more forced than before. 

"Ah." His eyes flickered over Lance for a moment, trying to figure out if eye contact was needed. "Okay." His gaze dropped and he shuffled a step back, his awkwardness winning out on the battle of eye contact while he mumbled. "Umm…"

Keith took another step back to give Lance whatever space he needed and held his arms close to his chest. He looked so uncomfortable, and it was made even worse when Lance could clearly see the way he debated whether or not to look Lance in the eye again while he fumbled on, eyes jumping from face to floor and back again. 

"Thanks," Keith said quietly. "And thanks for. You know." He shrugged, still not looking at anything in particular. "Coming to get me for breakfast…" Now, Keith steadied his gaze purposefully up onto Lance's, making his intention and voice clear. "I’m really sorry.” He shook his head, still holding his gaze. “I didn’t mean any of that."

Pidge snorted loudly into the table before Lance could respond, making them both flinch. "Yeah dude, you're scary when you wake up." She finally lifted her head from the table and squinted, either in thought or against the bright light. "Like a feral cat."

"Or a rabid dog," Hunk added mindlessly.

Lance pointed a finger up with a slapped on grin. "Or Pidge when she doesn't get her coffee."

The tired teen narrowed her eyes at Lance and pointed her own finger, jabbing it pointedly with each, low threat. "I will catch you. And I will hurt you."

"Not with those little legs," Lance said, this time with a real grin. 

It quickly left when Pidge straightened up a little too fast with the plastic butter knife in her hand and too much energy than before, posing it menacingly at Lance with her chin jut out in defiance. Lance, in all his six foot glory, yelped just as quickly and jumped to hide behind Hunk before Pidge could even aim, poking his nose over Hunk's shoulder to peak at her as she sat back down. Once she was settled, Lance snickered to himself and stepped away from Hunk, who hadn't even paused in his cooking. Sophia chuckled into her tea as she blew over the lip, and Keith was still staring Pidge down with a quirk to his brow. Lance shook his head at his people, feeling lighter already.

"Hey, it's no problem man," Lance said as he reached a hand out to clap his hand over Keith's shoulder. 

Keith immediately flinched with the contact, not having been paying attention and was caught off guard. The reaction was instant, his gaze down, shoulders dropped and lips sealed, falling right into his Obedient routine within the second. It happened so fast and so naturally that Keith didn't even seem to notice that he had done it. Only the near silent released breath was proof of Keith realizing the way he had jumped under Lance's hand, but even that was controlled. 

No one else seemed to have noticed it, either preoccupied with food or dead to the world, but Lance was careful nonetheless and let his hand fall away with minimal touching. Now apparently released, Keith offered another tight smile and slight nod before he scurried over to the table with his head held low, and sat down quietly; prim and proper. Lance didn't allow himself to stare, not wanting to bring attention to it or make Keith even more uncomfortable with more eyes on him than strictly necessary, and busied himself with finishing the task of pulling out drinks. Mostly because doing something with his hands kept him from storming out the door in search of asshole fosters. 

As Lance gathered up cartons and bottles, he let his frown take over his face, safely hidden within the fridge for the next few seconds until he needed his smile back. Just a few seconds. That was all he needed so that he could curse the monsters who did this to his friend. Lance didn't know what they did to make this happen, or how he was going to fix it, but by God, _Lance was going to fix it._

-

Lance smiled at the fan in front of him as he signed whatever paper she had shoved at him. It was pretty cool to have fans of his own, and it certainly didn’t hurt his ego. The two of them were out in the open at the diner, standing in the parking lot after a distress call from Hunk. His car had broken down there and he needed a jump to get home, but in doing so, Lance had run into a girl who had stepped out of the diner on her way home from dinner. When she caught sight of the two, Lance thought she was damn near exploding from how desperately she tried to keep herself from screaming.

Thankfully, Lance was nothing if not merciful, and he gladly accepted her presence when she asked to come near and speak with him. Hunk had rolled his eyes at his friend and shaken his head, but smiled all the same as he hooked up his engine. It didn’t hurt anybody if Lance were allowed to live it up a little.

When his phone rang, Lance wore an all new smile at the name on his phone, and his voice carried it through to the other end of the line. “Hey babe, what’s up?”

The girl in front of him gasped with wide, excited eyes, making her own smile spread wider across her cheeks. Lance kept his grin up, glad that she knew how special this call was, and held a finger to his lips. Without a word, the girl eagerly nodded her understanding, and plastered her fingertips over her own lips to hold back her squealing. Frankly, at this point he was sure she was pretty close to spontaneous combustion. It was absolutely delightful.

_“Hello, darling,”_ Lotor said. _“Have you had the chance to review the demo for my project that I sent you?”_

The smile faded with a slight pout, hidden under the guise of concentration while he scribbled out his name. “No, sorry, I haven’t had time yet.” He handed the paper back over to the fan with another polite smile, and she gleefully waved goodbye as she stepped away to let him finish his call. “I got called in to-”

_“I sent it to you hours ago,”_ Lotor said, sounding disappointed. _“I know it’s not for your own class or your own channel, but I also know that you’re fast enough to at_ least _give it a listen.”_

“Well, that is true,” Lance said, frowning a little. He hated disappointing his boyfriend. “But You sent it to me during class, and then Hunk’s car broke down so I’m here at the diner to give him a jump.” His smile came back as pride washed over him. “I also ran into a fan while I was here and she asked me to give her an autograph. _An autograph!”_ Lance squealed himself. “Isn’t that so cool?”

_“Fascinating, darling,”_ Lotor said with only a slight smile. Small, but still there. _“If you do get the chance to look it over, I really would appreciate it. And tell Hunk I’m sorry for his troubles.”_

Lance gave an unseen shrug and a sly smirk over his shoulder to Hunk, who was too busy bent over the hood to take notice of Lance. Unless, of course, Lance were to somehow speak loud enough for Hunk to hear. “Eh, he knows his car is a piece of shit.”

“Hey!”

“It’s true and you know it!”

A slight chuckle bubbled up on the other end of the line, making Lance grin all over again. He loved it when he could make Lotor smile.

_“Just let me know when it’s done, alright?”_ Lotor asked. _“I could really use your insight on this.”_

“I will, I will,” Lance said easily. “Don’t worry about it, alright?”

_“Lance. It’s_ you,” Lotor deadpanned. _“Of course I’m going to worry about my deadline.”_

“Okay, ouch,” Lance said, holding his heart for effect. “Hitting me where it hurts, babe.”

_“Just giving you a dose of the truth,”_ Lotor said.

“Whatever,” Lance said, dragging out the word so he could walk away from the roar of the engine as Hunk revved the cars to life. Once Lance was a suitable distance away from all that racket, he started up again without Lotor ever being the wiser, pacing slightly to keep himself busy. “Look, your project isn’t even due for another week, you have time.”

_“Yes, but I don’t want to laze about when I have the time to do it right,"_ Lotor said, a little firmly. _"Especially if I have to slow it down to_ your _pace.”_

At this, Lance jolted back a bit, affronted, and a little confused. What Lotor had said might have been true if they had planned on making the set-back permanent, but as that wasn't the case, it didn't quite make sense. True, Lotor was a year and a half ahead of Lance, and had plans to further his education into undergrad, but that didn't mean he was so far ahead of Lance academic-wise that Lotor would actively be slowing down his advanced studies. There would be no reason for Lotor to be so worried about going back a credit for any period of time; least of all for a brief stint in Lance's hands. 

"Jeez, sorry I don't rush through my work all at once. You don't have to bite my head off for it," Lance griped.

_"And you just proved my point,"_ Lotor muttered a little bit away from the phone, as though not intending for Lance to hear, but he kept going before Lance could ask about what exactly that mumble meant. _“Look, darling, I don't need anything more than an extra set of ears on it, you don't have to change a thing. If there are any mistakes, I'll change them myself, but I want to get them corrected now before it’s too late.”_

Lance stopped pacing and frowned. Suddenly, going at 'his pace' didn't quite sound like a school thing anymore. 

“Why do I feel like that was a jab at me?” Lance asked carefully.

On the other end of the line, Lotor let out a little bit of a huff. _“I’m not in control of how you feel, Lance. You of all people should know that.”_

The frown deepened, feeling like he had just been sucker punched in the gut. Memories of arguments shouted in the dark or over the phone, of accusations about his feelings and emotions not being real or confused for something equally ridiculous, of comparisons made to his siblings and cousins and neighbors and how they were smart enough to know the difference- always, _always_ smarter and better than _him._ Lance stayed quiet for a moment, unable to speak up about anything while he was trapped with his dampened feelings from the past, and the overwhelming feeling of betrayal and stupidity that he _still_ struggled with. Lotor knew this, had been confided in about this, and Lance was so glad that he had someone to speak to about it, but it still hurt to think about even now.

"Why do you even need my help then?" Lance bit out. "If I'm just going to fuck it up for you."

Again, Lotor sighed, and the roll of his eyes could be felt even through the phone. _"Darling, please, not now."_

"No, I really wanna know," Lance said, literally standing his ground as he planted his feet on the gravel. "If you're so far ahead of me, then why not give it over to one of your smarter classmates?"

_"Lance, please,"_ Lotor said, firm all over again, enough to make Lance waver for half a second. Then, just as instantly, Lotor softened his tone with a suave grace to it that only he could do naturally. _"Do you really think I can trust those loons not to gut me?"_ He let out an incredulous laugh, barked out like a smooth, Bond villain. _"I would never survive."_ Lance faltered a bit, his anger cracking the longer Lotor crooned into his ear. _"You're the only one I can trust with my music. Anyone else could be a threat."_

Slowly, Lance melted, and his insecurities swallowed him up along the way. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he was overreacting. Maybe he was just being too sensitive. That _was_ a bad habit Lance had been trying to break, so maybe… 

Silently, Lance closed his eyes and sighed to himself, disappointed all over again. Lotor would never say anything he didn't mean, and with that being the case, he couldn't have implied that Lance was slow intellectually. Not when he knew how much it would hurt Lance.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Lance finally muttered, despondent.

_“Well don’t sound so happy about it,”_ Lotor muttered right back. Then he paused, lowering his voice into something more gentle. _“Hey.”_

Lance didn’t say anything, but Lotor knew he had his attention.

_“You don’t need to concern yourself with people who won’t even be concerned with you,”_ Lotor said, still gentle. _“I love you. Heart and soul. Do you understand that?”_

A small smile tugged at the corner of Lances lips, and it stayed there as he whispered his response. “Yeah.”

_“Oh dear, I don’t think you heard me,”_ Lotor said, then raised his volume slightly and lengthened his words to an almost obnoxious enunciation. _“I-love-you-Lance!”_

That got a real laugh out of him, small as it was, and Lance shuffled on his feet as he smiled sweetly to the heavens. “I love you too.”

_“Good,”_ Lotor said, and this time the smile was definitely in his voice. _“Then I’ll talk to you later._ After _you finish listening to the demo.”_

“Right,” Lance chuckled. 

_“I’m serious, Lance.”_

“I know, I know, I’m going!” Lance said exaggeratedly, spinning around on his heel to tromp his way back to his car as he had been told. “I’ll listen to your precious demo when I get home.”

_“Make sure that you do,”_ Lotor said. _“Now hurry home before another rabid fan comes at you in the night.”_

Lance stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide and playful with an even bigger smirk widening over his expression. “Is that _jealousy_ I hear?”

There was no other response but the blip of a cut connection, and then Lance was left to laugh uncontrollably at his boyfriend alone in the parking lot while Hunk watched from the safety of his now running car.

-

All things considered, it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the air felt clear and clean even with the late summer heat, and the birds were going at it like their beaks would fall off if they didn't get their song out. The gang was gathered around the same outdoor table they had been using for the last few years talking and laughing about how uneventful their first day back on campus had been, and it was so calm and familiar that they couldn't help but relax into the atmosphere.

Hunk had gone all out to make their first day special and created a massive picnic for their lunch, earning no complaints from his friends as they dug into his baked goods and creamy pies for dessert. As brutal as it was, Hunk could only smile on as his friends dove into his creations without abandon, happy to see that not only were they eating well, but that they actually enjoyed it. Pidge went at it like the raging beast she was and feasted like a king, while Lance had somehow goaded Keith with some snarky challenge that ended up with them shoving food into their gullet as fast as they could. Keith won of course, mainly because of his military and foster training but nobody had to know that. He had won fair and square, no matter what Lance claimed. 

The laughter and the smug smiles were abundant while Lance ranted over how Keith had cheated, so no one really noticed or cared when the phone went off. When he did, Keith's blood ran cold once he saw the name pop up on his phone, and he froze up in the middle of the table. It only lasted a second, but it was a second too long in Hell where every possibility ran right through his head. 

They knew- they _knew;_ they had to have known, had to have heard from one of their spies how he had slipped and gone out with his roommate, his _male_ roommate, and now here he was laughing and eating with that roommate all over again because he was a filthy heathen who had no control over his disgusting, sinful ways and he would never learn, was sentenced to a life of Hell without his sister, without his friends, without-

Keith took a breath and stepped away from the table as he answered his phone. "Hello?"

_"Hello, Keith!"_ Carol said with too much cheer. _"Good to hear from you; you never call to chat anymore."_

Right off the bat, he knew she wanted something. Carol only ever called when she did, and she always used the same manipulation that almost no one noticed, something that had actually taken Keith years to see only _after_ he had moved out. 

Pleasantries, a fixed smile and a tiny, meaningless guilt trip easily slipped in that made you admit fault over even the most miniscule of things for her to gain control of the conversation. Her voice was so chipper, so off putting and playful in hopes to lure and trap her victims into a false sense of ease, and it was a bit terrifying to know just how easily she could get anyone under her control with something as minimal as a greeting. A plan that probably wasn't even consciously plotted out it was so natural. 

It was something so simple, so meaningless, yet absolutely, one-hundred percent effective every time. No matter the outcome, be it a bake sale volunteer or a child admitting to a crime they didn't commit, Carol Sendak always got her way because she subconsciously instilled guilt in their minds before they even got a word out. Damn human psychological tricks. It was a tactic that Keith was all too familiar with, and he couldn't tell right away if she was leading him towards a 'favor' or a punishment just yet, so he played it safe.

"Sorry about that, ma'am," Keith said, making sure to speak clearly into the phone so as not to bother her ears with mumbles. "School started up again, so I've been busy getting all that set up around my work schedule."

_"Oh, that's right!"_ Mrs. Sendak said with her audible smile. _"So glad you're still putting that scholarship to good use. And to think, it all started at my piano."_ She breathed out an effortless chuckle. _"One day that extra education of yours will come in handy."_

"Yes ma'am," Keith said with as much enthusiasm as his closing off throat would allow him. 

Righteous anger burned in his blood at her flippant dismissal of his parents, of his original love of music or of any of his hard work, but he was too nervous to cut her off before he knew why she needed him. As much as he hated it, hated _her,_ he loved Acxa more, and he wouldn't risk her for some wounded pride. So, gripping his fist at his side, Keith let Carol keep her fantasies.

"So how are things?" Keith asked. "Is everything alright?" 

_"Yes, of course! You know how it is in_ this _house,"_ Mrs. Sendak went on with another laugh that prompted others to follow it, and Keith was no fool to try and disobey it. _"I was just calling to let you know that Dick and I will be going to a charity event for the base on Wednesday, so if you wanted to come and visit Acxa then we wouldn't mind it if you came over to hang out at the house for the night."_

Keith blinked, proccesseing her words.

_"I know it's a church night, but it's for charity, so I know you'll be alright with God to skip just this once."_

Was she really?

_"And when you do come, maybe bring a pizza or two for the kids?"_ Carol laid her smile on thick. _"It'd only be for a few hours. You could make a night out of it."_

She was. Holy shit, she _was._

Babysitting. Carol wanted- Carol _expected_ babysitting. Sure, Keith wasn't getting paid for it, and had to spend his own money on gas and food for kids he didn't even bother to get to know that well, but he could still see Acxa. He could be alone with her without supervision. In fact, Mrs. Sendak was phrasing it like she was doing _him_ a favor while she actively pursued his assistance to watch all of her precious cargo for the night. 

Which meant that they knew absolutely _nothing_ about Keith and Lance. 

Keith breathed out a silent breath of relief and looked to the heavens in thanks. "I'll have to double check my work schedule, but I'll try to make it."

_"Oh, I'm sure you could call in sick just this one time,"_ Carol chided lightly, still with that sickly sweet smile. _"After all, it's for family. You're helping out your dear, old mom!"_

A shudder wracked over Keith's shoulders without his consent. "I'll see what I can do, ma'am."

_"Great, see you Wednesday!"_

A click, and then she was gone. Her favor had been fulfilled, and she had gotten all she needed out of him. No questions asked, no secrets told. 

Keith could finally breathe again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okie-dokie, so you know how I said that I was exposed to covid and my test came back negative? Yeah, I took the test too soon and got a false negative. Yay. -_-" Thankfully I got a mild strain and have been able to manage it at home locked away in my room like I always do, but seriously, the sensation of losing my sense of smell and changing taste buds are a trip. I've mostly been sleeping it off and popping painkillers like candy, but otherwise I should have a full recovery hopefully soon.
> 
> In other news, I missed last week because I wrote my first script for work and they LIKED it I am so stoked, you guys, holy crow. If things keep up this way there's a good chance I'll be posting once every other week just so that I'm not swamped every day, you know? Because I really and truly do love writing for you guys. You just light up my day. Even going back and reading through old comments makes me smile, and that's a gift these days. 
> 
> I guess that's it, tbh. I thought I had more to say but I guess the emotional rollercoaster of these past few weeks has made the days longer, ngl. That or I've just been sleeping through the days to try and ride this thing out, haha
> 
> Also! Next chapter is going to be another live stream, so if you have any questions or songs, let me know in the comments and I'll try to put them in, too. Though, there's a good chance you'll like what I did even without it. :)
> 
> The Foster List: Must show proof of marriage and/or divorce (if applicable), (Oh, Lance~)
> 
> P.S.  
> I found someone who dealt with covid similar to myself both in how we found out we got it, how we handled it, and how it hasn't and won't kill us (mostly because I'm too stubborn to die), so if you're interested in some medical facts, have a look~  
> Covid info:  
> <https://youtu.be/ZQTgfOJhJ90>


	3. Days in the Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith hadn’t connected with a song in a while. Not since his parents had died and left him. It was hard to connect with anything when he didn’t have anything to hold onto anymore. Being a moody pre-teen didn't help much either. After his parents died, though, music was nothing more than a painful reminder of what he had lost. So much so that he was almost resentful towards it.
> 
> But then, the foster’s kid plugged in the aux cord while they were coming home from grocery shopping. Then Owl City played a soft, sorrowful song that matched up with everything that he was feeling. Then, Keith had to hide his face so as not to let his latest foster mother see the tears streaming down his face.
> 
> Keith hadn’t connected with a song in a while. Not since his parents had died and left him. 
> 
> But then, one Silhouette brought him back to the life he knew was meant for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *bursts in through the door*  
> I'M HERE! I SWEAR! I MADE IT! I'M ALIVE!
> 
> I'm so sorry, with everything going on lately I've slowed down a lot, and then work started going a million miles an hour and I just totally lost track of time. I could have sworn it was Tuesday today o_o... 
> 
> Here, have a really long chapter with extra love and a little bit of a broken 4th wall thrown in just for you guys that I had written beforehand but is now more appropriate than ever *FLINGS IT AND RUNS*

**-**

[ **Days in the Sun** ](https://youtu.be/deVaBYbP3WY)

[ **Beauty and the Beast** ](https://youtu.be/deVaBYbP3WY)

**43**

-

“Skie89 how lovely to see you this fine evening!” Lance crowed, smiling widely to the camera from his seat on the floor while Keith rolled his eyes in the background. 

They were both set up on the floor near their usual streaming space near the piano, Keith putting all of his weight onto a single hip in the background with his arms crossed and Lance sitting cross-legged on the floor with his face nearly in the laptop. It made the stream feel somewhat more relaxed and homey without even trying. It also gave Keith the chance to sit closer without raising suspicion but nobody needed to acknowledge that. Not even himself.

“Charmcloak you too, you handsome devil!” Lance stopped to think, then gave a lecherous grin while he held his chin. “Or beautiful. You know I don’t mind either one.”

“You’re a shameless flirt and need to be put on a list,” Keith uttered flatly.

To this, Lance merely stretched his arms out to grab onto the edges of the camera, almost as though he were grabbing the viewer by their shoulders. “Don’t listen to him, Altivolous. He could never understand our love.”

_ “Gross.” _

_ “Shush!” _ Lance cried, swinging his finger back at Keith for a dramatic point. “Thou knowest not what thou speaks!”

Keith merely gave him a blank stare. “You’re a dork.”

Lance dropped his pose to replace it with a new one, placing his cin atop his laced fingers to bat his long eyelashes at Keith. “But a cute dork.”

“Lies and delusions,” Keith said dryly.

“Cruelty and slander,” Lance said back. Then he twisted back around, his wild grin taking over once again as his eyes took in the chat. “Nightmares_and_Daydreams, you know I’m right, don’t you?” Then his eyes lit up as more and more activity spammed through the chat. “Oh wow, we’re really popular tonight, Keithy-boy.”

“Don’t call me that, it’s weird,” Keith sighed, getting up. Then he leaned over Lance’s shoulder to get a look at the exploding screen as well, and his eyebrows lifted slightly. “Wow. You weren’t kidding.” He lifted his fingers for a small wave. “Hey Miso. Good to see you again.”

“Heck yeah! Good to see  _ all  _ of you again!” Lance said, positively beaming, then he started waving like a lunatic. “Hi AddictedBookWorm! Hey I_Can_Vibe_With_That!" He stopped waving to look pointedly at the camera. "Okay, I love your name and all, but I'm calling you Vibe from now on. In fact, I'll be thinking of nicknames for everybody until I can think of good ones that work with all y'all's long ass usernames."

By this point, Keith had sat down on the floor near Lance as well, and was comfortable enough to simply shrug, unimpressed. "Honestly I'm surprised it took you this long. Your slothfulness precedes you."

Immediately, Lance whipped around to point a threatening finger towards Keith's face again. "I take offense to that." Then he spun right back around with a sigh, slumping over to lay his chin in his hand and give the chat a faux look of disappointment. 

"Keith is so mean to me all the time, JamieTayl, I don't know why you let him bully me like that." Lance's playful smirk instantly fell away to one of his signature grins as he spotted a new name and began waving like a fool once again. "Oh, hi, Shadowed_Flight, thanks for joining the party!”

Keith rolled his eyes at his friend's antics good naturdley, and nodded to the chat, scooting away slightly from a flailing Lance. “Thanks for joining us tonight, guys, we’re glad to have you. If you have any questions about the chat, you can ask freely. Usually one of our usuals will answer for you, like Binart, or Killer_Thorn, or ArtesVeil, or…" He paused once he realized the length of the list he was about to attempt, then shook his head. "Really there’s a whole line of people willing to talk to you, so don’t be afraid to speak up.”

“Yeah, we’re all friendly here,” Lance said, still smiling brightly as the chat lit up with dozens of familiar names agreeing or volunteering to do just as the musicians had suggested. “Wow, look at'em go, everyone's being so nice!"

"Mmhm," Keith said, nodding as he peeked over Lance's shoulder with his own small, proud smile tugging at his lips. "Thanks guys." 

"Yeah, you're the best friendos a lunatic could ever ask for," Lance said through a far too wide smile, but completely and wholeheartedly sincere. 

Keith, on the other hand, was looking at Lance like he had just quoted a 'Presidential Tweet'. And not even one of the funny ones. "'Friendos'?"

Lance merely shrugged. "It's gender neutral."

Unable to deny Lance's logic, Keith ticked his head and nodded. Satisfied with this, Lance went right ahead with his mission to make as many shout-outs in one sitting as possible. Because reasons. Mostly the oddly misplaced emotion trying to cover up a loneliness he couldn't quite explain, but felt instant gratification upon acknowledging the people he dearly loved and hadn't seen in a while. It wasn't like anyone was self projecting or anything. Clearly. 

"Oh my gosh, GiggleBox, your name is adorable. And TwoStandarDeviationsAwayFromSanity sounds like the Title to Keith’s autobiography.” Lance snickered at Keith’s expense, ignoring the glare sent his way and turning back to the screen when his eyes lit up once more. “Oh my God, I love you Airic_fuc-”

“Nope!” Keith cut him off with a hard slap over Lance’s mouth, sealing it shut before Lance could speak it. “We don’t need another demerit from your sailor mouth.”

“Killjoy,” Lance said through the muzzle that was Keith’s hand. “Am I right, Nerdhser?”

“Ew, stop talking, you’re getting spit on my hand.” Keith pulled his hand away in disgust and wiped it across Lance’s shoulder as he spoke, but Lance was undeterred, merely waggling his eyebrows at the chat.

“Alrighty friends, here are the rules!” Lance said, clapping his hands together. “Be nice to each other; no trolling, no bullying, no ship wars because if you’re really a fan of ours then you know that we encourage love on both of our channels with the exception of us." He stopped to eye Keith up and down playfully. "Because. Ew.”

Amused, Keith was not.

Once the deadpanned glaring was done, Keith nodded once and moved on, his arms crossed over his chest as he picked up where Lance left off of their routinely scripted intro. “We’re here to perform requests or answer questions and just generally hang out with you guys and have a good time, but we also reserve the right to veto any questions or requests if it’s too personal, rude or just plain outlandish. Like thinking that Lance and I actually like each other." This time, Keith eyed Lance. "At  _ all.”  _

_ "Excuse _ you," Lance said, cocking a brow. "I'm a  _ delight _ and you're lucky to be my friend."

"It's just a bit; don't listen to him," Keith told the fans, still void of any emotion like before, and unaffected all through Lance's insistent squawking. Instead, he merely ticked his head once to the side for a mime of a shrug or something like it. “Other than that, we should be fine.”

“Remember, this is supposed to be fun,” Lance chimed in, giving Keith a hard enough shove to knock him onto the floor and out of the view of the camera, leaving nothing but a lone knee propped up in the air. “So sit back, relax and have a good time with your old friends Keef and Lancey.”

“That’s not my name,” Keith muttered as he sat back up, but went ignored.

“And hopefully you can make some new friends in chat, too! God knows I need better company than this poser.” Lance jerked his thumb over to a frowning Keith, but moved on, bright as ever. “And with that, let the livestream commence!”

Keith looked absolutely done at this point as Lance jumped up high to throw his hands in the air and whooped far too loudly to be considered an inside voice. After unclenching, Keith slid his put-out gaze over to the camera while Lance started dancing and beatboxing to himself, all the while Keith was silently begging the chat to end his misery of being stuck next to his obnoxious 'best friend'.

“Why do I put up with you,” Keith asked blandly.

“Because it’s good for ratings,” Lance said simply, and dropped back down to the ground to look through chat. “So! Let’s see what we’ve got today.” He held up his finger to draw it down the bursting line of incoming chats and only stopped to follow a question once he recognized a name. “Cloudedskiez, you won’t get me in trouble with the fun police over here.” Lance proudly ignored Keith’s glare while he jerked a thumb towards the sour man. 

“Cloudy says ‘ I have a question for both Keith and Lance if it hasn't been asked yet,” Lance said, reading directly from the chat. “‘Who do you take inspiration from-slash-who inspires you? It could be related to music or just someone who makes you want to do your best every day’.” A grin lit up his eyes as he turned to Keith expectantly. “And then they gave a little smiley face ‘cause they be cute like that.” 

“We did say friendly,” Keith agreed, earning a nod. Then he nibbled his lip, thinking on his answer. “I guess I could say my parents because they were always adamant about being out of the box, and I like to try and do that with my music, but…” he said lowly, eyes narrowed as they searched the floor. “But then, my old case worker is a pretty cool guy, too."

Blinking, Keith looked up, but still kept his gaze distant as he spoke. "He got me out of a lot of trouble as a kid, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without him because I was the typical hoodlem. You know, angry kid that hated the world.” 

Keith paused, not really upset or uncomfortable, but rather stuck thinking. In fact, his entire response was stated as a matter of fact, still holding his arms close as he looked away to his memories and got caught in the butterfly effect of what could have been. Gradually, Keith began fidgeting a bit, still looking towards his explanation. 

“He completely turned my whole world upside down for the better, and I ended up thriving because of it." Keith finally looked to the camera, entirely open. "If I could ever do that for someone else, I'd consider that my greatest achievement." He nodded once to himself, as though confirming his words while openly planning his future. “I guess once I saw how genuine he was, how much he actually cared, I knew I wanted to be like that, too. But," He shrugged, nonchalant. "I know I still have a long way to go before I can be anything like him.”

Beside him, Lance nodded. “Yeah, he’s still pretty prominent in your life, right? I mean, I’ve met the guy, and he’s pretty cool. We all like him.”

“It’s kind of hard not to,” Keith said. “It’s like- a fundamental law of the universe. Birds fly, babies cry, and it’s physically impossible to hate on the guy.”

“Mhm, yep, it’s true,” Lance agreed, nodding along. Then he held up a finger and pointed up. “Same goes for Tía; nobody can hate Sophia.” That earned him a nod from Keith as well, and Lance smiled to the camera. “It’s no surprise that my Tía is my inspiration. She’s the kind of love and kindness that I aspire to be, and I know I’ve got a pretty long way to go before I can catch up with her, too. If ever!”

Keith snorted. “The woman is a saint. Nobody can catch up with her.”

“For once, I don’t think I can argue with you there,” Lance said, sounding a little annoyed with this fact as he narrowed his eyes at Keith. Then he looked to the ground in thought. “I just. I’m kind of like Keith in the fact that I want to be the person for someone that I needed as a kid, because I think if we  _ all _ had someone there to back us up, the world would be a nicer place.” He smiled softly. “More beautiful.”

Smiling a little wider, Lance leaned forward to prop his elbow on his crossed knee, cupping his chin in his hand. “I don’t think we’ll ever be as great as our heroes, because to us, they’re always going to be out of reach no matter how successful we are at copying them.” 

This time Lance snorted. “We could cause world peace and still think we’re not good enough to compare. To us, they’re just-” He shook his head and shrugged. “Perfect.”

“Well that’s a depressing thought,” Keith muttered. “But even more depressing is that I think you’re right.”

Lance straightened up at once and pointed sharply at Keith, absolutely beaming. “See that? He said I was right about something! I got that on camera! WOO!” 

Then without another thought, Lance sprang to his feet and began dancing in place again, making Keith roll his eyes. Again. Lance ignored him, carrying on with his whooping and humming a victory tune as he shimmied his hips. When he started shaking his butt, Keith got annoyed by the close proximity of ass to face and promptly punched the inside of Lance’s knees, making him yelp as he crumpled to the ground in a heap of limbs. 

Just as quickly as he fell, Lance whipped around on his elbow and gaped at Keith, offended and holding a hand to his chest. “That was dirty, Song!” 

“So was your butt in my face,” Keith said, making Lance shriek, however ignored it may have been. Instead, Keith leaned forward to move on and read the next question so that he wouldn’t have to listen to Lance’s rant about his extended hygiene routine. “AviKun2000 asks how was our summer break?”

For a moment, Lance could only glower at Keith, unable to respond and seemingly, genuinely annoyed. Keith hadn't meant to, but he seemed to have pushed a button. Rather than saying anything about it, though, his stubborn ass just looked to Lance expectantly, waiting for an answer.

When Lance stayed quiet and turned to look at him, Keith merely shrugged, giving in. “It was good, thanks for asking. You saw most of it from the mini-series, to be honest, but, other than that, I got a lot of work done. Hopefully I can look forward to more profit from it in the near future and put it to good use.”

It was true in a lot of ways. Frankly, Keith was glad for it, and pretty excited about it as well. For Lance, though, that was another story.

“Boo,  _ boring!” _ Lance said. “Of course  _ you  _ would think that working all summer would be  _ fun.” _

“You seemed to enjoy it,” Keith said, matter-of-factly.

“Well yeah, because I was being recorded while I got to bug you,” Lance countered. “It was a win-win if I ever saw one.”

“You do that every day for your internet career,” Keith pointed out. “Ergo, you had fun working, too.”

“No, that’s different!” Lance said stubbornly.

“Oh yeah?” Keith asked, unconvinced. “How so?”

Lance floundered for a minute, flustered at how his unanswered babbling was growing by the second, and eventually resorted to flapping his arms around Keith to wave him away. “It just is!”

“Mmhmm.” 

“Quiet, you.”

Keith could only smirk, and his smugness grew tenfold with his next statement. “By the way, you lost the bet.”

Like a hawk, Lance whipped his head around and zeroed in on Keith. “What bet.”

“The bet you made me do when we agreed to film that ridiculous mini-series,” Keith said, sliding his gaze sideways to eye Lance up and down. “The one where you have to dress as a chicken.”

All color seemed to fade away from Lance’s cheeks as he stared disbelieving at Keith, if only to avoid the freshly rabid chat box exploding at the news. “No way.”

“Oh no.” Keith nodded. “It’s real.”

“Nope! I call bull honkey on that dump,” Lance said way too loudly, pointing dangerously close to Keith’s nose. “I demand a recount before any dancing is done. Then you’ll be sorry for ever doubting me, Song!”

“I mean, it’s plain as day on our channels, but whatever,” Keith said lightly, arms still crossed casually over his chest. “I figured you’d be a sore loser about it.”

“Sore los-  _ I am  _ not _ a sore loser!” _ Lance shouted.

Keith shrugged, nonplussed. “Sure seems that way, but okay.”

“No!  _ No!” _ Lance shook his head, pointing again almost violently. “You take that back!

“I take it back,” Keith said without emotion, clearly not meaning a word of it.

By now, Lance had reared back in a pose to strike, finger pointed stiff and firm and accusing at the man who threatened his honor. "You! I know you! You're just trying to get into my head, but it won't work!"

"Clearly," Keith droned.

"Hush, I'm taking a stand," Lance said, making Keith furrow his brow. 

"Against what?"

"I don't know, I heard it in a movie."

Now, Keith looked  _ far _ past 'done' and was into 'tired' territory, giving the camera a long, empty stare over what he had to constantly deal with. This only served to make Lance grin in smug triumph.

"See?” Lance said. “Your silence is telling."

"Telling everyone what sort of strength it requires to deal with you."

"Hey! Rude!"

"Let's just move on already,” Keith said, shaking his head.

Lance held his nose high in the air, glaring down at Keith with malcontent. “I accept that as your claim to forfeit and move on with my victory over your sorry ass.”

“Language!” Keith hissed. “I’m not getting demonetized because of you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Lance said, waving Keith off as he scooted forward on his knees to read the chat. "Alright, let’s start out with someone we know won’t get me in trouble.” Lance smirked as he heard Keith scoff behind him. “From our lovely Astralscrivener; what was it like to work on the kitchen project and will there be another?"

When Lance finished reading, he looked over his shoulder to find Keith seriously contemplating his answer. A purse on his lips and furrow in his brow put a smile on Lance’s face, pleased to see such a cute expression on his partner while he thought.

"It was a lot of work,” Keith said, still thinking hard. “I think I spent over a week on that project-"

"Longer," Lance interjected.

"Yeah, it was a beast,” Keith said, nodding. “But it was also really satisfying reaping the rewards. I'll definitely be doing another like that if I ever get the chance to spend a week or more to make it."

At that, Lance turned back to smile broadly at the camera. "Count me in, too; that was cool."

Keith shrugged. “I mean, I guess I could let a B like you help.”

Lance gasped loudly and whipped a wicked frown out towards his friend. “Excuse you, who are you calling a B, you B?” He jerked a thumb at himself. “I’m the B around here and everyone knows it.”

Once again unconvinced, Keith looked away. “Yeah, sure. You keep telling yourself that.”

“Rude!” Lance turned to the chat again in search of support. “Can you believe this? It’s slander! Utter slander from a complete fool!”

“Takes one to know one,” Keith muttered, making Lance gasp dramatically again as Keith leaned forward to read the chat box. "For you, Lance. Iwriteshipsnotsailthem asks for a song about hope or uplifting spirits. They want their friend Flaria to have a better day knowing that they had a song dedicated to them by you."

Immediately, Lance snapped out of his sour mood and perked up with . more excited squawk this time. "Oh, Boo, do I have the song for  _ you!" _

Quickly, he scurried over to the piano, smiling and talking along the way. "I'm sorry your friend is having a rough time right now, but I hope this will help." As he sat, Lance played with the keys a bit, getting a feel for it. "I just heard this guy recently and have had this song stuck in my head for a while, so I have to share it with you guys."

Even before the first chords played, Keith sat back to watch Lance perform, and listened intently while he sang. The song started out soft, talking about how some person the singer was speaking to had been hurting when it came to relationships, and it slowly changed from there. Gradually, it grew into a passionate proclamation over how what they were feeling wasn't a  [ **Temporary Love** ](https://youtu.be/3dbdzbGED5Q%C2%A0) , and it was clear to Keith that Lance had him in mind during the performance.

A passionate one at that. Lance always put his all into his music, but as the song required more soul, Lance was obviously more than willing to oblige it. Lance was loud, empassioned, fearless, and completely over the top in a way that worked for the song. 

It was ridiculous. Keith hated how much he loved it. 

When the song came to a close, Keith shook his head, keeping his face as stoney as ever, but Lance could see the sparkle in his eye that was undeniable as he spoke. "You looked like an overzealous preacher." 

Lance jabbed a finger at Keith from his seat at the piano bench, grinning like mad. "I'll take that as a compliment!"

Keith said nothing, but rolled his eyes playfully before turning back to the chat box. “Alright, Gaiko has a song request for both of us. Something sad that we relate to or feel a connection with, and an explanation for why.”

The question actually gave the both of them pause, but while Lance did it to consider his options, Keith did it to consider whether or not to share his choice. He knew exactly which song to sing, knew exactly which song had changed his life for the better after he found himself lost. And the only reason he knew this so quickly was because he had been thinking about it more and more recently. 

The first time he had heard it, Keith's life was in shambles. Closing in on thirteen years old without a thing to his name, not even his old passions. His love of music had been lost in an ocean of hatred and self pity, while he himself felt trapped in a life without meaning. Actually forced into a life he didn't want to live. Keith had been ripped away from everything he knew to be right and dropped into an entirely different lifestyle where everything he had was wrong. 

Wrong school, wrong clothes, wrong state, wrong friends, wrong family- just wrong, wrong, wrong. To Keith, there was nothing left of him or his old life. Now, there was only wrong, and the forced reality that was the foster system.

Then, without any prompting, that song came on and played every emotion that Keith had been feeling. It spoke to him when no one else could, and managed to pinpoint every single feeling he had been feeling, all summed up in a simple, four minute explanation. It opened his eyes and pulled him out of the loathsome status quo he had landed in, and Keith knew without a doubt that his life changed that day from bleak to hopeful. 

Lance would surely tease Keith for such an emotional response, but the fact of the matter was, that sad song had made Keith  _ feel _ again. Made him realize what sort of life he didn't want to live. Now, in his final year of college, Keith had been thinking of that song all over again, because the status quo of his whole world was changing once again. The truth was, it was starting to fit his lifestyle all over again, and it was kind of scary at how easily 'then' and 'now' all overlapped. Because now, instead of a song, it was  _ Lance _ that reminded him of that feeling.

It was terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. But, surprisingly, Keith wasn't nearly as scared as he thought he'd be over this fact. Or, maybe… it really wasn't all that surprising anymore. Not with Lance around.

Careful not to be noticed, Keith flicked his eyes over to Lance, studying his expression under the guise of waiting for an answer. It was a more exposing question than he had expected, and he wondered if Lance had been caught off guard as much as Keith had. From the way Lance took this so seriously, it seemed to be the case.

"I think…" Lance licked his lips, choosing his words carefully. "I think one of them would have to be Boys in the Street." Bright blue eyes looked to the camera with a new sense of emotion to them, more serious and earnest than before. "I know I didn't say much in the video I posted for that song but I…" His eyes lowered with his voice, small but clear, then he quickly flicked them back up. "It really hit me in a soft spot, you know?" 

Clear as day, Keith could see it. Keith had been wrong. The question  _ had _ caught Lance off guard, just as it had Keith. The proof was in his gaze, how soft and vulnerable it made him feel, but then that same old blaze of mischief flared right back up with a playful smile. 

"Other than that, I'd probably have to go for the Frozen 2 soundtrack," Lance grinned. "Because it's totally awesome." 

Keith scoffed, surprised yet not at all at the same time for the sudden switch. "Way to ruin the moment."

"I  _ perfected _ it, thank you," Lance said. 

"Nope," Keith said, shaking his head shortly. "I think that perfection will come when my next video drops…" He openly checked his watch. "In about ten seconds.

Suddenly, Lance's eyes widened, and he leaned forward to drop from the bench to his knees, waddling closer to the laptop in anxious anticipation. "What did you do?"

A devious grin slipped past Keith's defences. "Got under your skin."

This is a lie, and maybe Lance knew that or he didn't. Neither one of them had any proof otherwise as Lance reared back with a loud gasp.

"You  _ fiend!  _ What have you done?" Lance asked, nearly shouting as he reached forward to smack Keith's shoulder.

In response, Keith merely stretched forward on his knees to reach out and begin typing on the computer. 

"Let's see if Pidge posted it for me," Keith said, knowing fully well that she had if the earlier ping in his pocket was anything to go by.

True to his word, when Keith pulled up his profile, Lance was left gaping at the latest edition of  [ **Into the Unknown** ](https://youtu.be/HSMnLSNgUy4) [.](https://youtu.be/HSMnLSNgUy4) Once again, Lance's finger made a comeback in Keith's general face area.

"You!" Lance shouted, aghast. "You're stepping on my turf!"

Keith shrugged, unmoved. "More like I danced all over it after I spiked the winning touchdown."

This time, Lance leaned in closer to sneer at Keith. Though, without much heat behind it. "You and I both know you don't know diddly about sports."

"I know enough to make you eat dirt," Keith said, oddly sly.

"Oh, is that so?" Lance asked, still too loud as he pulled back to place his fists on his hips. "Allow me to demonstrate exactly why you're wrong."

And with that, Lance was on the move. Keith leaned away from him as Lance scrambled up to his feet and snatched up his guitar from beside the piano.

"What are you doing?" Keith asked.

"Gaiko asked for a performance," Lance said, tuning his guitar as he walked back into frame. "I'm not one to disappoint." 

Then, as Lance sat down still tuning his guitar, he was suddenly serious as he considered his songs. His eyes faded away to his memories as he pondered his options, and his lip was the victim of an unfortunate chewing. It was clear once his mind was made up, because his fingers began moving before Lance had properly cleared his head, and as he blinked back to reality, Lance lowered his gaze to the strings at his belly.

"I know I joke a lot about liking Frozen 2-" Lance looked up to give the camera a pointed look. "The superior Frozen, thank you." 

Lance smirked a little at the light scoff Keith huffed out, but mostly returned his attention back to his guitar. The cocky look faded away, and a softer smile took over. He stayed this way as he played a soothing  [ **lullaby** ](https://youtu.be/n9g6bOMKQjQ%C2%A0) , not giving attention to anyone or anything for a bit. Then, he opened up again.

"I admit it, I do joke," Lance said, lowering his voice into something more gentle. "But, it really is a special thing for me. For me  _ and  _ Sophia. Just." He shook his head, unable to find the words for a moment. "The strength of family in it. How close they are, even when they lose everything." He shrugged, still talking to his guitar as he played. "Even something as simple as a lullaby has such an impact. It's incredible." Lance finally looked up with a slight smile, almost sheepish as the song slowed to a close. "So, I guess sharing this will have to do in place of signing the same song over again."

Keith stayed quiet as Lance finished, suddenly feeling a bit ashamed or bashful himself. Knowing Lance's history with his family, Keith could easily make the same connections that Lance did, and he felt  _ off _ over his latest video now, after claiming it was just a way to annoy Lance. Whether the guy knew it wasn't real or not, Keith felt bad either way, so he stayed quiet and kept his eyes low, nodding agreement through his pensive gaze.

The chat went ablaze as Lance plucked his last string, and he beamed at the sight of it. 

"Thank you, thank you, you're a beautiful audience!" He waved high in the sky before clamping his hand over his mouth for a big, loud kiss that he blew away to the camera. Then, chuckling to himself, he turned expectantly to Keith. "What about you, Keithy? Got a song you'd like to share?"

Oh no.

"Nope." Keith shook his head, and Lance did not appreciate that.

"Aww, c'mon!" Lance whined, almost flopping on top of his instrument. "I shared my gooey insides!"

"You  _ like _ sharing your gooey insides." Keith stopped, making a face of slight disgust before turning back to Lance. "Can we agree never to say that again?

"Never gonna happen," Lance said smoothly as he propped his chin up on his fists over the side of his guitar, being careful not to lean his full weight on the delicate wood. "Now why don't you want to share your gooey insides with our friends?"

Keith scowled. "Stop being gross."

"Then answer the question," Lance quipped.

"Never gonna happen," Keith said, raising his brow and voice to mimic Lance's earlier comment with as much mockery as his dry humor could handle.

Again. Lance did not appreciate this.

"C'mon, man!" Lance said, holding his hands out to Keith beseechingly before using his deadly Finger Point again. "You wimped out on the last request for your personal taste in guilty pleasures-"

A flash of skin in his memories made Keith almost flush.

"-You can't skimp out on us again." Lance said, not catching the flicker of panic, and quickly waved a hand to the screen. "The fans will think you don't like'em!"

Bruise colored eyes widened with annoyance. "That's not true-"

"I know that, and you know that, but actions speak louder than words, my man," Lance said, gesturing to himself then Keith, then flung his hands up for a moment before flopping them down again. It didn't stay that way long. "So, as your bro, I'm gonna help you out. You can play us your sad song, or show us your guilty pleasure." Lance smiled smugly at Keith, like he had solved all of his problems. "Which is it gonna be?"

Keith glared at Lance, the two of them at an impasse. Keith knew Lance would never back down, and with the chat to back him up, Keith also knew he'd be screwed if he even tried. Truthfully, it really wasn't a big deal, because at this point Keith was fighting for the sake of fighting. 

Still, the thought of exposing himself in such a way sent shivers up his spine, in a way that Keith didn't know if he liked or not. In the end, Keith kept on fighting because he feared the results. What mattered most to him wasn't what his fans thought of him or his musical choices. What bothered him, was what  _ Lance _ might think of him. And that was just… 

"… It's stupid." 

Keith caved.

Lance pounced.

"Aww, Keith! You promised!"

"No, we said we could veto." This time, it was Keith who was using a Finger Point.

"We also said we'd be friendly," Lance pointed out. "Don't tell me you haven't ever connected with anything because that would make you either a liar, or one crappy musician."

"Of course I have," Keith snipped.

"Mmm," Lance hummed, eyeing Keith up and down quizzically. "Nope. Don't believe you.

"I have!" Keith blurted.

"Then prove it." Lance hit him with a devilish grin that practically oozed out a challenge. "Or are you scared?"

"I'm not scared," Keith lied.

"Sure seems like it," Lance said, grin widening and voice dropping into mockery. "Poor, scared Keithy-boy doesn't wanna share his sad song."

The crack in Keith's armor had finally shattered from Lance's pestering, because Keith was too tired to fight anymore, and he just wanted to get it over with. Still. Apprehension made Keith look away, gnawing on his skin as he gathered his courage.

"… No emo jokes," Keith said finally, still unable to meet eyes. "You can't make fun of me."

Lance gave an inquisitive expression, scoffing playfully. "When have I ever-"

"Lance." Keith stopped him with a single Look. Voice eerily calm. "I'm serious."

And with that, Lance caught on.

"Fine," Lance said easily, holding up his fingers. "Scouts honor."

Promise made, Keith still stared at the piano for a good ten seconds just dripping with trepidation. Lance stayed silent while he watched, sensing Keith's need to psyche himself up without Lance's interference. Then, slowly, Keith took a deep breath, and moved to stand. 

"I've actually had it stuck in my head lately," Keith said quietly. "So maybe this was the sign that I needed to share it."

Keith sat down at the piano, keeping his head low to the keys and away from prying eyes. His fingers skimmed over them without pressing down, seemingly needing the extra moment to himself.

"When I was a kid," Keith started, still soft. "I sort of went numb for a while, and nothing could get me out of it."

The gentle sound of practice chords played softly as Keith's fingers prepared the notes.

"Then, this song came on, and it was different." He played a scale, keeping his eyes on the keys. "After so long, it was something that… spoke my language, I guess."

Keith played a single low note, holding it to give himself the extra second to bare his soul to Lance. He took a breath, then made the leap.

"It was the first time I connected with anything since my parents died."

Without another word, Keith began the first few notes of the song, then easily slipped into the music as if he were born into it. His background would surely agree, and as his tender voice began the lyrics, it only confirmed it. 

Keith's voice knocked Lance back into reality, forcing him to regain his senses from being rendered speechless. The confession had caught him off guard, and made him feel a bit guilty for pestering Keith so badly. Rather than dwelling, however, Lance stayed quiet, listening intently as Keith sang of a lone  [ **Silhouette** ](https://youtu.be/x8fsvL2fcZo%C2%A0) waiting patiently for the pain to end. 

Suddenly, Lance understood why Keith was so reluctant to perform such a song, and his own heart ached as he felt the emotion leak from Keith's every move. Tears burned at the corners of his eyes by the end of the song, and Lance had to hurry to hide them before Keith or chat could catch him. Instead, when Keith finished and turned to Lance expectantly, almost fearfully, Lance could do nothing more than offer a warm, sweet smile.

"That's not stupid at all," Lance nearly whispered.

Keith ducked his head, averting his gaze and rubbing at his hair, unsure if the low volume was because of Lance's overwhelmed self or for his own sake so the chat wouldn't hear. Either way, Keith was grateful, but far too exposed and uncomfortable. Thankfully, it seemed Lance felt the same way.

"Okay, we gotta lighten the mood now," Lance said with a little too much pep and a loud clap of his hands. "Next song!" He jumped up to peer at the screen and scrolled upwards towards the earlier posts before all the bleeding hearts could comment on Keith's song, searching for the quickest thing that would help to change the subject while Keith regrouped himself. "BecauseSin asks for Lance-" 

Immediately, Lance perked up with a wide smile directed at the camera, almost filling up the screen as he pointed to himself. "Hey, that's me!" He chuckled at his silly joke before dipping back to read. "BecauseSin wants me to serenade someone who I love slash thinks deserves it."

Lance hummed as he thought about it, really putting on a show as he rubbed at his chin and patted his pocket. "Someone I really, really love, huh?" He tapped at his chin, considering as he looked down to his other hand hidden in his lap for options, deciding on the spot once he saw the perfect name. Then, when he stood and smiled at Keith, the guy locked up like a deer in headlights. "Keith. I'm gonna need your help on this one 'cause I'm gonna need my hands."

The frozen look went away with the blink of an eye and was just as quickly replaced with anger and annoyance. "I swear if you sing me a dick joke-"

"Keith, please," Lance scoffed, holding a hand behind his back while he waved out the other with a sense of ease. "I have much more class than that."

"By what measurements?" Keith asked.

"Dude, come on," Lance said, catching Keith's eyes for a moment. "Have a little faith in me." 

Keith was not convinced. But then Lance gave him That Smile, and Keith was maybe partially convinced. The frown Keith wore grew deeper, and he begrudgingly turned to face the piano, scowling angrily at Lance as he did it. This earned him a brilliant smile, and before either of them could say anything, a small, tinny voice called out in the distance.

_ "Hello?" _

A sly grin took over Lance's expression as he pulled out his phone from behind his back and easily put it on speaker, then turned his devilish grin over his shoulder to the camera. "You guys ever see  [ **Ten Things I Hate About you** ](https://youtu.be/rore790l_sk) ?"

The grin swapped over to Keith as Lance began singing to his phone, cradling it in his hands like a baby bird as he swayed his hips to an unheard beat. Over the phone, Hunk snickered at what he heard despite not knowing the context, but stayed quiet and played along as Keith suddenly began playing the piano. This gave Lance the chance to move around sporadically, lifting and lowering his phone with dramatic flair as he danced loudly and obnoxiously, putting on a show for the man who most definitely deserved to be serenaded.

_ "I LOVE YOU BABY! AND IF IT'S QUITE ALRIGHT, I NEED YOU BABY! TO WARM A LONELY NIGHT! I LOVE YOU BABY! TRUST IN ME WHEN I SAY!" _

Throwing his head back, Keith couldn't help but cackle as he played piano for his friends. Lance pranced his heart out, singing as loud as he could and giving his all to the performance that Hunk would surely see later on in their shared videos. It was a sight to behold, and not a soul could deny that it was one worth smiling over.

The request had been an obvious set up, seeing as the only people the fans could see at that moment were Lance and Keith. Not only that, but in reality, Lance's knee jerk reaction was to sing for Keith, too. He liked him, and he had been doing it in secret for weeks already, so it just made sense to praise his crush with a song of greatness. After that exposing performance, though, and with how twitchy Keith looked after, Lance knew it wasn't an option. Now, at the sight of Keith's smile and the sound of Hunk's laugh, Lance was more glad than ever to be singing for his best friend instead of his crush.

With the final notes shrieked out and all his best moves used, Lance dropped to his knee and held his hands out high with an exceptional amount of jazz hands for his big finish, making Keith crack and fall over in his seat with laughter. Keith was not alone in this either, as Hunk giggled mercilessly on the other end of the phone and began clapping, prompting Keith to clap as well, however stuttered and offbeat it may be through his fit, while he struggled for air sprawled out on the bench.

_ "I don't know what that was for, but it made my day," _ Hunk said cheerfully. 

"Good!" Keith wheezed, still curled up on the bench in something close to the fetal position from laughter. "Giving you what you  _ deserve." _

Breathless but smug, Lance merely ticked his head with a content grin. "Just wanted to tell you I love you, buddy."

Hunk chuckled openly.  _ "I love you too, bud." _

It took another few seconds for Lance to catch his breath and Keith to compose himself, but after that, things went pretty smoothly. While the boys streamed, time passed, and the sun started to sink. Each time a new member of the household came home from work or church events, the chat was ablaze with delight and offered endless love and affection towards the lovely souls that showed up. And of course; Lance and Hunk spent a good portion of their reunion hugging it out with proclamations of love, making Keith sigh and the chat fly.

It was light and fun and easy, and as promised, the lot of them were having a grand ol' time. The rest of the tenants in the house went about their business as usual while the "party" went on without missing a beat, moving fluidly into evening. The questions and songs went on for a few good hours, leading to shenanigans and serious moments alike. As the night progressed, it appeared to lean more and more that way towards the end of their live stream.

"Killer_Thorn, tried and true!" Lance exclaimed. "A song that reminds me of Keith?" He turned a scrutinizing squint over his shoulder at Keith, looking as though he were trying to be annoying as he thought hard. Tried being the key word, here. Because while Lance did have an obnoxious aura to him, it didn't really sink in all the way. There was something different to him that Keith couldn't quite place. 

"If you've ever heard it,  [ **'Sunrise'** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ihCEM_Cta4%C2%A0) by Our Last Night is both perfectly emo for the guy, and super stubborn when it comes to giving up when everything comes crashing down." Lance smirked again, still gleaming with that unnamed something. "He always makes it to the sunrise."

Keith gave an uninterested blink, studying Lance and his oddity with a perfectly placed look of boredom. "Never heard of it," he mumbled. "Now get to work, you've been summoned."

Lance snorted, still grinning that strange grin, then got up for the guitar and set up on the piano bench instead of the floor. It was softer than expected, having to change thanks to their circumstances as Lance explained its more 'rock' origin, but the way that he did it was masterfully done. Especially when he put so much emphasis on the lyrics. 

The meaning was not lost on anyone, and while Keith remained stoic through it all, his heartbeat rabbitted so hard he feared it might burst through his chest. When he was done, Lance claimed that it didn't really have the same effect due to needing to use acoustics instead of the music it's usually associated with, but Keith disagreed wholeheartedly, regardless of his silence and flattened frown.

"What about you, Mullet?" Lance asked, grin smug, but eyes calculating. "I know they asked for me, but what song makes you think immediately of-" He spread his hands out in a production slide for his very important point.  _ "'Lance'?" _

It was a simple question, and were it not for the whirlwind of vulnerable emotions spearheading their way through Keith, he probably would have had a better answer. Hoards of songs sprang up to mind for Lance, full of ridiculous meanings and flowery words, of love and strength and beauty, of everything that terrified Keith to the end of his days. It shouldn't have been scary, but in that split second, Keith couldn't move, because he simply didn't have an answer that wouldn't expose the truth.

Then, very carefully, Keith stood up from the floor. He stepped over to the piano and laid a hand on Lance's shoulder, silently asking him to move. The smile mostly stayed, but Lance's eyes widened a little at the sudden somber tone, and Keith could see a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes, wondering if he had stepped too far with the song. Keith merely patted his shoulder again, wordlessly setting up at the bench as he sat down, almost regal.

A moment. Two. Three. Then, Keith took a breath, and lifted his hands to the keys to play The Chicken Dance.

"No!" Lance cried, jumping up immediately to point viciously. "No, I'm not doing it! I need that recount!"

"We'll see," Keith said calmly, still smirking as he played.

"No way!" Lance said, then wrapped an arm around Keith's neck for a headlock, pulling him away from the piano as much as he could, but Keith stretched back with him to keep playing. "You dick! I was serious!"

"So am I!" Keith's voice was muffled by Lance's arm, but his amusement was easily heard, clear as the smile on Lance's face. "You lost, chicken boy!"

"Limp noodle!"

The two wrestled with each other for the length of the song, though it was made double thanks to Lance trying to yank Keith away from the piano and Keith stubbornly refusing to stop until it was finished. Laughter and groaning filled the room, the sound of boyish play-fighting sending the chat into a frenzy over their childish charm. It was light and easy and far too much fun, and it easily sent Keith's frayed nerves packing to where they belonged by the time he finally trilled the last chord with a bright use of 'Shave and a Haircut' just to rub salt in the wound.

"You jerk!" Lance said, without any heat to it as he finally let go of Keith and shoved him.

"You asked," Keith snickered.

_ "'You asked'," _ Lance mocked in a whiny tone, but Keith couldn't be bothered.

Instead, his smirk only grew and he crawled back over to the chat. As expected, the fans were going haywire, but at least it was in a way that Keith could handle. The panic in his skin settled down, and Keith set to work reading off what was next on the list. Maybe it was a dick move to leave Lance hanging like that, maybe not. Either way, Keith could make it up to Lance later.

"They're really sending the love for you tonight, huh?" Keith asked, as he read Lance's name again on one of their last questions. "Nennha wants to know if you're a finger-gun bi, or an awkward thumbs up bi."

Without even stopping to think, Lance snapped both of his fingers and shot a double finger gun to the camera with a devilish grin and a flirty voice. "Finger guns, baby."

Keith gave him the most weighted of weighted stares. "On. A. List."

"Of the most handsomest men in the universe?" Lance grinned, coy. "Oh yeah, I know."

Snorting, Keith shoved Lance off his high horse, but not enough to knock him over. "Whatever, loser."

"Um, I think you mean 'winner'," Lance said.

"I'm aware of the english language, thank you," Keith replied.

"Contrary to some of the more 'patriotic' citizen's beliefs," Lance mumbled, lowly.

"Ugh, don't even start," Keith muttered back, then turned to the camera. "It's getting pretty late, guys, so lets make this our last one."

"Sounds good to me," Lance said, then flirtatiously pouted to the chat. "Although I hate to see you go."

Silently, Keith looked to the chat, then mouthed 'list' for only them to see. It ended up not working, though, because Lance smushed his hand into Keith's face and pushed him back and out of sight of the camera, smiling deviously at Keith's squawks and fumbles of disgust when he splatted on the ground. This, of course, earned Lance a kick to the gut from Keith's sprawled out position on the floor, wiping that stupid smile off Lance's face and making him curl out of sight while Keith sat back up. Well. As out of sight as Lance's overdramatic flailing legs could be.

"Okay, final one," Keith said, ignoring Lance's noises. "Kokochan requests something new we've heard recently."

"I already did that," Lance groaned obnoxiously, then lifted his bare foot to start nudging Keith's shoulder from his spot on the floor. "Top of the stream, remember?"

"Yeah," Keith muttered, but his eyes were low, thinking. Thoughts attacked Keith with vigor, as usual. He had been kind of a dick, lately, even if he hadn't initially meant to be. Keith's lip got pulled in by his teeth, trapped between them and his decisions as he considered his options. Then, after a moment, Keith had his mind made up. "But _ I  _ didn't."

Time to make it up.

With that, he stood up and stepped over to grab the guitar. Keith had wanted to do something nice for Lance again, something to remind him that he still cared for the guy, especially after all that Lance had done to show how much  _ he _ cared. As for Keith, he was still working out how to let himself do that. Unfortunately, he continuously kept getting stuck up on his fears and hurting Lance more than helping him. Keith wanted to fix that, to prove he could change, that he actually was actively working on being better. It wasn't much, but it was all he had.

So when Keith stepped too close to the camera, he snuck a glance to Lance safely out of sight before sitting down on the floor with the guitar in his lap. In turn, Lance smiled, and sat back up to listen to Keith's message, leaning back casually to rest his wrist over a bent knee. Keith ignored this as he closed his eyes and began to  [ **play** ](https://youtu.be/Kld3GUxilTk%C2%A0) , hoping that Lance would hear him like he had for so many silent moments before.

Lance's smile stayed small, regardless of how happy he was to hear Keith admit such things to him, and he actively worked to keep his expression as neutral as possible so as not to expose his lovesick heart. It was a struggle, but one that was worth it if it meant Keith was trusting him more. And as the song came to a close, Lance's heart was close to bursting at the sweet display, secret or not. Still. They each had a role to play. 

When Keith finished, Lance allowed his smile to morph into a wide grin, and he sat up to clap a hand over Keith's shoulder from behind. "You're getting soft on us, Song." 

It was an instant reaction once again. Keith didn't mean it, Lance knew that, but it still hurt when he flinched away from Lance's touch. Jittery as always after bearing his soul like that, Keith could only wave Lance off and turn away with a scoff, unable to think up a witty response over the usual racing thoughts that clouded his mind.

Lance got it. But also didn't. Even more so when Keith couldn't help but look like he just kicked a puppy into the street every time he saw his knee-jerk reaction happen without his consent. Truthfully, between the two of them, Lance didn't know who hated it more.

Especially when they had to hide it behind a smile for everyone else.

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, this was totally me just telling you guys how much I love and miss you using the boys as a medium. I tried to get everyone in this time around (if I missed you I'M SORRY I swear I adore you I'll do better next time there's just so many names askshbfd) so that's what this was. Just a boatload of appreciation for all. Hi, I love you, thank you for coming to my TED talk. I'm a little all over the place, ngl, so I'm sorry for that. Good news is I beat covid (longest month of my life) and have started recovering nicely, so I won't have to worry about that taking up my time anymore. Hopefully I can get more work done soon. Thanks so much for your patience, guys, I really do appreciate it <3
> 
> The List: Must agree to a home study which includes visits with all household members, (Need the house first)
> 
> Temporary Love  
> https://youtu.be/3dbdzbGED5Q 
> 
> Into the Unknown  
> https://youtu.be/HSMnLSNgUy4
> 
> All is Found  
> https://youtu.be/n9g6bOMKQjQ 
> 
> Sunrise (acoustic)  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ihCEM_Cta4 
> 
> Silhouette  
> https://youtu.be/x8fsvL2fcZo 
> 
> I Love You Baby  
> https://youtu.be/rore790l_sk
> 
> I need the sun to break  
> https://youtu.be/Kld3GUxilTk 
> 
> Tell me what you think. I love hearing from you guys

**Author's Note:**

> Lance and Lotor's duet at OMN:  
> https://youtu.be/j80mCLNTugk  
> (Though, cut off the "limited" bit in the opening because this younger Lotor doesn't know humility and will deny any and all admissions of failure. I specifically chose this one because while they sound good, they also sound young, and I wanted that for their early performances)
> 
> Tyler Ward, Yellow- Coldplay:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK7p6DzpcRA
> 
> Meaning of Coldplay’s Yellow: ‘Martin has explained, "'Yellow' refers to the mood of the band. Brightness and hope and devotion."’ Lance took that to a whole new level.
> 
> The Foster List: Must share information regarding their background and lifestyle, (check and re-checked every year)(Green)
> 
> UPDATES:  
> Ok so, a lot of news since we last talked- some good some bad. First off, thanks so much for your patience with me! I really do appreciate it so, so much, and I couldn’t have gotten everything done without your unending grace I love you guys so much omg. I got everything taken care of with my insurance which is great because- bad news, I accidentally got exposed to covid a couple days before Christmas (guy had a false negative and we thought it would be safe for a short visit for gift exchanges) but more good news- when I went to get tested myself, my results came back negative as well, so no death threats to me, thank God. Although, I’ve been in self quarantine ever since just to be safe. (That was an emotional roller coaster, let me tell you 0.0) I’m also going to go get tested again in a couple days just to be extra sure because you know ya girl doesn’t wanna be a threat to anybody. I have faith, though, so I think everything will be A-OK ;)
> 
> This leads me to even more good(?) news: I got a job! :D I’m so excited, I haven’t been able to work since Dec 2017 due to my disability but now I’m writing professionally for someone I can’t disclose because I signed the non-disclosure agreement X) Hopefully once we go public I can tell you guys all about the project we’ll be working on but for now, I’m going to need to stay quiet on the whole deal because I don’t want to get fired, haha  
> That being said, I’m afraid I may need to slow down once again/even more on Finding due to putting my all into the job. I’ll do my best to keep up with you guys because I love you and I love writing for you but the job will have to come first. I hope you understand. I’d like to try and stick with the once a week post like I had done before, and I’ll do everything I can to meet up with you guys every Thursday like before, but if I miss a week, you know why.
> 
> Thanks again so much for being such great readers. I really do love, appreciate and adore you all, you beautiful peanuts. Happy New Year. Let's make it a good one ;)


End file.
